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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 



FIRST DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT 



PRESENT TIME. 



BY E. BUNNER. 



NEW YORK: 
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHER 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1863. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, "by 

Harper & Brothers, 
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York. 



/^c/ r 



y 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER I. 

Discovery of Canada Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Disjcovery of the Mississippi 21 

CHAPTER m. 

Settlement of Florida 31 

CHAPTER rV. 

Expedition of Joliet and Marquette. — Hennepin. — La Salle 40 

CHAPTER V. 

Expedition of Iberville. — Mississippi Company.— Foundation of 
New-Orleans by Bienville 55 

CHAPTER VI. 

Indian Tribes 73 

CHAPTER Vn. 

War of the Natchez 85 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Surrender of the Charter of the Mississippi Company. — War of 
the Chickasaws.- Interior affairs 95 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Diflferences between France and England. — General Washing- 
ton. — Nova Scotia. — Fort Duquesne. — Loss of Canada. — Sup- 
pression of the Order of Jesuits .... Page 106 

CHAPTER X. 

Louisiana ceded to Spain 121 

CHAPTER XL 

Conduct of O'Reilly. — Villere. — Acts of the Spanish Govern- 
ment 131 

CHAPTER XII. 

Galvez.— War with England.— Mira.— St. Domingo . . 145 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Carondelet. — Fortification of New-Orleans. — Sugar Manufacto- 
ry. — French Emigrants. — Treaty between the United States 
and Spain. — Gayoso de Lemos 158 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Transfer of Louisiana to the United States . . . 167 

CHAPTER XV. 

Territorial Government of Louisiania. — Laws . . . 177 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Spain. — Conspiracy of Burr. — General Wilkinson. — Refugees 
from Cuba. — Taking of Baton Rouge. — Louisiana made a 
State. — Constitution. — Steamboats .... 196 

CHAPTER XVII. 

War with England.— Battle of New-Orleans . . .213 



CONTENTS. Xi 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Prosperity of Louisiana.— Bank of Louisiana. — Laws.— Florida. 
— Mouth of the Mississippi.— Lafayette.— General Jackson 
elected President.— National Bank.— Cholera . . 232 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Tariff.— Speculation.— Lotteries.— Banks.— Madame Lalaurie. 
—New-Orleans Divided.— Stoppage of Specie Payments 248 

CHAPTER XX. 

Project of Albert Hoa. — Appropriations. — Great Flood. — Im- 
provements in Louisiana.— State of Society.— Conclusion 259 



HISTORY OF LOUISIANA, 



CHAPTER I. 

Discovery of Canada. 



Louisiana having been formerly connected 
vritli Canada and the northern parts of America 
while they were under the dominion of France, 
it seems proper to take some notice of the early 
settlements in those extensive countries. In 1504, 
within seven years of the discovery of the Con- 
tinent, the mariners of Brittany resorted to New- 
foundland for the purpose of fishing. The island 
of Cape Breton received its name from them; 
and in France they were generally regarded as 
the discoverers of the country, though it could 
not be denied that the Cabots had first visited it. 

In 1506, Denys, a citizen of Honfleur, made 
a map of the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; plans of 
colonization were formed ; and two years after- 
ward Aubert brought to France some of the na- 
tives of Canada ; but it was not until 1524 that 
any decisive step was taken. Francis I. then 
B 



14 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

employed Verazzani, a Florentine, to explore 
these new regions. He set sail with a single 
vessel in the month of January, and made the 
land at a point as yet unseen by any European, in 
the latitude of Wilmington. Not finding a con- 
venient harbour, he ran down far to the south ; 
and thence returning northward, cast anchor on 
the coast of North Carolina. After this he vis- 
ited the harbours of New- York and Newport, 
sailed along the whole coast of New-England to 
Nova Scotia, and returned to France in July. 
His narrative of this navigation furnishes the ear- 
liest original account now extant of the coast of 
the United States, and gave to France such claim 
to the country as dl^dvery cOuld cOlrfer. The 
remainder of Verazzani's career is involved in 
obscurity. Historians, however, for the most 
part agree that he embarked on another expedi- 
tion; but whether in the service of France is 
unknown. The disastrous battle of Pavia had 
just taken place, in which Francis, as he himself 
said, had lost everything but honour ; and for 
many years America was left to the Breton and 
Norman fishermen, who continued to carry on a 
successful trade. 

At length Chabot, admiral of France, inter- 
ested Francis in a design to colonize the country, 



VOYAGES OF CARTIER. 15 

and Jacques Cartier, a mariner of St. Malo, was 
intrusted with the command of the expedition. 
His several voyages were of great importance 
as they directed the attention of France to the 
region of the St. Lawrence. He arrived with 
two ships on the coast of Newfoundland, and, 
after almost circunmavigating the island, turned 
to the south, and, crossing the gulf, entered a 
bay, which he called Des Chaleurs, from the in- 
tense heat which then prevailed. Finding no 
passage to the west, he sailed along the coast as 
far as the smaller inlet of Gaspe, and on a point 
of land at its entrance raised on a lofty cross a 
shield bearing the lilies of France, with an ap- 
propriate inscription. Thenceforth the soil was 
to be considered as part of the dominions of the 
French king. Cartier next discovered the great 
river of Canada, and sailed up its channel till 
he could discern the land on either side. After 
a short and successful voyage he returned to 
France. 

The following year a new commission was is- 
sued ; and Cartier again arrived on the coast of 
Newfoundland. Passing to the west of that isl- 
and on St. Lawrence's day, he gave to the noble 
gulf into which he entered the name of that mar- 
tyr, and which w^as afterward extended to the 
B 



J 6 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

whole river. Sailing to the north of Anticosti, 
they commenced ascending that majestic stream. 
The Indians, who were of the Algonquin race, 
received them in the most hospitable manner; 
and Cartier, leaving his ship, proceeded in a 
boat to the island of Hochelaga, where was 
their principal settlement. The town lay at the 
foot of a hill, ascending which, he was so de- 
lighted with the prospect from its summit that 
he called it Mont Real : the name by which the 
island itself has since been known. He also 
gathered from the natives some indistinct ac- 
counts of the surrounding country, and, having 
formally taken possession of it in the name of the 
French king, returned to his ship, passed the 
w^inter there, and in the spring sailed for France. 
His description of the region bordering on the 
St. Lawrence afforded no encouragement to the 
plan of establishing a colony there ; the severity 
of the climate terrified the inhabitants even of the 
north of France ; and the honest navigator held 
out no promises either of silver, or gold, or precious 
stones. Yet the advantages to be derived from 
occupying the country were not to be neglected ; 
and in 1540, Francis de la Roque, lord of Ro- 
berval, a nobleman of Picardy, obtained a lib- 
eral charter for this object. The assistance of 



UNSUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION OF ROBERVAL. 17 

Cartier could not be dispensed with, and he ac- 
cordingly received a similar commission ; but 
they neither acted in concert nor sailed togeth- 
er. Cartier, again ascending the St. Lawrence, 
built a fort near the site of Quebec; and after 
wintering there, he set sail to return to France 
just as Roberval arrived with re-enforcements. 
The latter, unaided by Cartier, could do no more 
than verify the previous discoveries; and after 
remaining about a year, he abandoned his brill- 
iant enterprise, which terminated without any 
permanent results. 

France being at this time plunged in civil 
war, was not in a situation to undertake farther 
discoveries, though some French Protestants at- 
tempted a settlement in Florida, the melancholy 
fate of which will be hereafter related. It w^as 
not till the reign of Henry IV. that the purpose 
of founding a French empire in America was 
vigorously renewed. In 1598, a charter no less 
ample than that given to Roberval was issued 
to the Marquis de la Roche, a nobleman of 
Brittany ; but his enterprise failed. A monopo- 
ly of the fur-trade was next granted to M. 
Chauvin in 1600. He made two profitable 
voyages, but death prevented him from accom- 
B2 



18 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

plishing- his principal object of establishing a 
colony. 

In 1603 a company of merchants was formed 
at Rouen by the governor of Dieppe, and Sam- 
uel Champlain, a skilful mariner, and a man of 
science, was appointed to command the expedi- 
tion fitted out by them. The account he after- 
ward gave of his voyage, shows that he had 
accurately observed the character of the savage 
tribes and the geography of the country. Que- 
bec (which, in the Algonquin language, signifies 
a strait) was selected as the most advantageous 
site for a fort. 

Champlain returned to France just before a 
most extensive patent was granted to De Monts, 
conferring on him the sovereignty of Acadia, 
the country from the fortieth to the forty-sixth 
degree of latitude, that is, from Philadelphia to a 
point north of Montreal ; a monopoly of the lu- 
crative fur-trade ; and an exclusive right to con- 
vey the soil, control trade, admit emigrants, &c. 
Vagabonds, idlers, banished men, and reckless 
characters of every description, were invited to 
join in forming a colony, and those who could be 
induced to embark in the enterprise sailed in two 
ships for Nova Scotia. The excellent harbour, 
since called Annapolis, difficult of access, but 



SETTLEMENT OF PORT ROYAL. 19 

possessing a small navigable river abounding in 
fish and bordered by beautiful meadows, was 
selected by Pontrincourt, one of the leaders of 
the expedition, who solicited a grant of it, and 
naming it Port Royal, determined to remain 
there. The other division of the company made 
their first attempt at a settlement on the island 
of St. Croix, at the mouth of the river of the 
same name. This river was subsequently adopt- 
ed as a part of the northeastern boundary of 
the United States ; and a question arising as to 
which stream was the true St. Croix, the remains 
of the fortifications erected by De Monts assisted 
in deciding it. The island was, however, so ill 
suited to the purposes of the colony, that it was 
abandoned in the following spring, and the 
whole company removed to Port Royal 

With the view of making a settlement in a mild- 
er climate, De Monts explored and claimed the 
rivers, coasts, and bays of New-England, at least 
as far as Cape Cod ; but the hostility of the sav- 
ages, and other difficulties, caused him to delay, 
and finally to abandon his purpose. Thus the 
first permanent French settlement made on the 
continent of America was at Port Royal, in 
1605 'j for it was not until 1608, after the remon- 
strances of the French merchants had procured 



20 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

a revocation of the patent granted to De Monts, 
that a company formed at Dieppe and St. Malo, 
founded Quebec. This latter undertaking was 
accomplished by Champlain, who aimed not at the 
profits of trade, but the glory of founding a state. 
Rude cottages were erected ; a few fields were 
cleared, and a few gardens planted. The next 
year, this daring adventurer, accompanied only 
by two Europeans, joined a mixed party of Hu- 
rons from Montreal and Algonquins from Quebec, 
in an expedition against the Iroquois, or Five 
Nations, in the country now forming the north- 
western part of New- York. He ascended the 
River Sorel, and explored the lake within our 
Republic which bears his name, and which will 
perpetuate his memory to the latest period of 
time. Champlain succeeded in fully establishing 
the authority of his nation on the banks of the 
St. Lawrence. He was the father of New-France, 
and his remains he buried in the land he subdued 
and colonized. 



JUAN PONCE DE LEON. " 21 



CHAPTER II. 

Discovery of the Mississippi. 

About the same time that the discoveries ot 
Cartier were opening to the enterprise of the 
French vast territories in Canada, the Spaniards, 
at the other extremity of the northern continent, 
were attempting to effect a settlement in Florida, 
which was first visited by Juan Ponce de Leon 
in 1512. A gallant soldier, and one of the com- 
panions of Columbus in his second voyage, he 
had been appointed governor of Hispaniola, but 
was removed from that post on account of his 
severity. He then turned his thoughts to the 
Continent of America, where, according to an 
Indian tradition, among other wonders, there 
was a fountain whose waters conferred the boon 
of perpetual youth. Although Ponce was in the 
decline of life, his ambition and love of enter- 
prise were unabated : no wonder, then, he should 
have implicitly believed a tale which had gained 
credence from the wisest men in Spain, or that 
he should have been eager to renew his youthful 



22 * HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

vigour, and at the same time advance his for- 
tunes, by visiting the miraculous fountain. Ac- 
cordingly, he fitted out three ships at his own 
expense, and on Easter Sunday, called by the 
Spaniards Pascua Florida, he reached the sought- 
for land, to which, from the day ^vhen it was 
discovered, and its profusion of flowers, he gave 
the name of Florida. Ponce landed in the lati- 
tude of thirty degrees and eight minutes, a few 
miles north of where St. Augustine now stands. 
The determined hostility of the Indians obliged 
him, however, to postpone his search for the 
fountain of youth ; and after reconnoitring with 
great danger the eastern coast, he returned to 
Spain, and was rewarded with the government 
of the country. 

1521. — Some years elapsed before he could 
complete his preparations for taking possession 
of his province ; and when he at last returned, 
his company were attacked by the Indians with 
so much fury that they were forced to retreat to 
their ships, and Ponce himself received a wound 
from an Indian arrow, of which he soon after 
died. Thus terminated his dream of riches and 
of renovated youth : but Spain acquired a new 
channel for her commerce through the Gulf of 
Florida, and a new territory of unknown extent. 



HERNANDEZ DE SOTO. 23 

Several other expeditions were sent out, but 
they were generally unsuccessful, and afforded 
but little information that could be relied on in 
regard to the countries bordering on the Gulf of 
Mexico. Some of the parties had penetrated 
into the interior, where they encountered great 
hardships ; and on their return they related the 
most wonderful tales of what they had met with 
and heard, persisting in the assertion that Florida 
was the richest country in the w^orld. 

1537. — Hernandez de Soto had gained both 
fame and fortune by military service in the con- 
quest of Peru, in which he had distinguished 
himself no less by conduct than valour. But his 
ambition was still unsatisfied; and he solicited 
from Charles V. permission to conquer Florida at 
his own cost. The monarch readily granted to 
the renowned commander the government of 
Cuba, wdth unlimited authority over the immense 
unexplored territory included under the name of 
Florida. 

As soon as the projected expedition was an- 
nounced in Spain, the eagerness to join it brought 
forward many more adventurers than could be 
received. De Soto selected six hundred young- 
men, the very flower of Spain, and many who 
had sold houses and lands to equip themselves 



24 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

for the enterprise were obliged to remain un- 
willingly at home. 

1538. — Everything being ready, the splendid 
fleet set sail for Cuba. Leaving his wife there, 
with a considerable addition to the number of 
his companions De Soto started to accomplish 
his projected conquest, and in the month of May, 
1539, arrived in the Bay of Esperitu Santo. 
Landing his soldiers and horses, of which latter 
there were about three hundred, he sent most of 
his vessels back to the Havana. At the head of 
a more formidable force than had been employed 
in the subjection of Mexico or Peru, he now set 
forward to acquire for himself unbounded wealth 
and power, and to convert the ignorant heathen 
I'D Christianity. Twelve priests accompanied the 
army for the purpose of inculcating, amid scenes 
of blood and carnage, the mild and peaceful doc- 
trines of the Christian faith. 

The wanderings of the first summer brought 
^.he adventurers to the country of the Apalachi- 
ans, east of the Flint River, not far from the head 
^i the Bay of Apalachee. Their march was 
attended by nothing but danger and disappoint- 
ment. Two Indian captives, on w^hom they had 
depended as guides, deserted them; others led 
them purposely astray ; and no wealth was found 



BATTLE WITH THE INDIAISS. 25 

to recompense them for their toils. Thus the 
summer passed fruitlessly away without realizing 
a single advantage. The next spring, however, 
they resumed their march, led by an Indian, who 
treacherously flattered them with hopes of gold. 
They must have passed through Georgia and the 
country of the Cherokees ; but though gold is 
now found in parts of this region, their search 
proved unavailing ; and after wandering much 
as they had done the year before, they descend- 
ed the valley of the Tombeckbee, and arrived at 
a considerable town on the Alabama, called Mo- 
bile. The Spaniards attempting to make them- 
selves masters of the place, the savages resisted 
with the utmost fury, and the most bloody battle 
ever known in Indian warfare ensued. Two 
thousand five hundred of the latter are said to 
have been destroyed, part in battle, and part in 
the flames of their burning houses. The Span- 
iards, who were indebted to their cavalry for the 
victory, lost but eighteen men and twelve horses, 
though a great number of both were severely 
wounded, and their baggage was consumed in 
the conflagration. The bay into which the uni- 
ted waters of the two rivers fall still retains the 
Indian name. 

Meanwhile ships had arrived from Cuba ; but 
C 



26 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

De Soto, unwilling that his failure should be 
known, resolved to send no tidings of the expe- 
dition until he should have made some important 
discoveries. 

1541. — De Soto now directed his course to 
the north, his troops having been reduced by- 
sickness and warfare to five hundred men. They 
passed the winter in the country of the Chicka- 
saws, in the upper part of the state of Mississippi, 
still disappointed in their hopes of wealth, and 
continually harassed by the Indians, whom they 
provoked by their injustice and cruelty. 

De Soto was not yet discouraged ; and, resist- 
ing the entreaties of his followers to abandon a 
fruitless pursuit, he started afresh on his enter- 
prise in the spring. He now took a westerly 
direction ; and, after making his way with great 
difficulty through forests and marshes, he at 
length came in view of the Mississippi. We may 
imagine the astonishment of the Spaniards at 
beholding this magnificent river, more than a 
mile in width, rolling on in its rapid course, and 
bearing on its bosom enormous trees, rooted up 
in its passage through the dense forests. The 
yellowish colour of the turbid water, so unlike 
the silver streams of Spain, must have added to 
their wonder. The magnolia, cotton-wood, sas- 



DISCOVERY OP THE MISSISSIPPI. 27 

safras, and cypress, with long moss depending 
from their branches, and a multitude of shrubs 
and flowers, all differing from those of Europe, 
completed the strangeness and novelty of the 
picture. Even the fish were of a new species 5 
and one of them, the spade fish {Platirosto Eden- 
tula), now so rare that it is seldom found even 
in the museums, is accurately described by one 
of the adventurers. 

1542. — A party sent to explore the regions to 
the north, reported them to be almost a desert. 
De Soto, therefore, turned to the northwest, 
and advanced in the direction of the White 
River to the distance of about two hundred miles 
from the Mississippi. Still neither gold nor pre- 
cious stones were found ; and, turnnig to the 
south, they arrived among the Tunicas, at the 
Salt Springs, near the head of the Washita, 
where they wintered. They were now among 
a peaceful agricultural people ; but, as experience 
had not taught them either mildness or forbear- 
ance, they soon quarrelled with the natives, and 
lost many of their men. Disease and fatigue 
contributed still farther to thin their ranks, until 
De Soto at length determined to retrace his 
course to the ocean. After many difficulties, he 
succeeded in getting back to the Mississippi, by 



28 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

descending the Red River ; but there he was at- 
tacked by a fever. Feehng that his last moments 
were approaching, he summoned his officers 
around him, and naming Muscoso de Alvarado 
for his successor, he recommended to the rest 
submission to the chief he had chosen, a strict 
maintenance of disciphne, and, above all, perse- 
verance in their enterprise. The next day, in 
May, 1542, and at the age of forty-two, he ex- 
pired in the arms of his almoner, exactly three 
years from the time of his first landing in Florida. 
His body was placed in a coffin loaded with 
cannon balls, and sunk in the Mississippi, at the 
mouth of the Red River. He was the first Eu- 
ropean to behold that magnificent river, and 
scarcely had he discovered it ere he slept beneath 
its waters. 

This romantic expedition has been rendered 
still more so by Garcilasso de la Vega, in his 
History of the Conquest of Florida. He men- 
tions a number of Indian tribes, few of which are 
now in existence, and which he represents as 
having attained a much higher civihzation than 
any of the native races are found to possess at 
the present day, living in well-built houses, sur- 
rounded by cultivated fields, wearing linen em- 
broidery and pearls, and having made no small 



proficiency in music, with many other particulars 
still more extravagant. Although recent dis- 
coveries seem to indicate the existence, at some 
remote period, of a more civilized people than 
any the early colonists found here, we can by no 
means admit the exaggerations of De la Vega, 
which are even contradicted by the more au- 
thentic accounts of the followers of De Soto. 

Alvarado resolved on leading his forces to 
New-Spain without delay. Some few deter- 
mined spirits w^ould indeed have preferred dying 
in the wilderness to the mortification of returning 
with baffled hopes ; but their leader did not 
share in this feeling, and they set out with the 
design of proceeding across the country to Mex- 
ico. On arriving at the Red River, they found 
it so swollen that it was impossible to pass it ; 
and, after roaming about without making any 
progress during the summer, determined to re- 
trace their steps to the Mississippi, and follow its 
course to the sea. They reached it in Decem- 
ber, a few leagues above the mouth of the Red 
River ; when, exhausted by toil, want, and sick- 
ness, it was with the greatest difficulty, in their 
enfeebled condition, that they managed to build 
seven frail vessels, in which the poor remains of 
this once formidable expedition embarked. An 
C2 



30 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Indian fleet of gayly-painted canoes followed and 
harassed them. The weather being calm, the 
Spaniards passed slowly down, and the Indians 
overtaking them, let fly a shower of arrows, and 
hastily retreated, to avoid the fire of their mus- 
kets. In their wretched state, destitute of food, 
and many of them wounded, it is probable the 
whole party would have fallen into the hands of 
the savages had not a favourable breeze sprung 
up and carried them out of danger. In seven- 
teen days they reached the Gulf of Mexico. To 
those who now navigate the Mississippi, where 
the experienced eye can scarcely discern a pas- 
sage at times among the snags, it must appear 
almost a miracle that the slight vessels of the 
Spaniards were not dashed in pieces long before 
they gained the sea. 

These adventurers were the first to discover 
that the waters of this great river, so vast is their 
volume, retain their freshness for some miles 
after they enter the sea. The party followed 
the direction of the coast, and, afte>r fifty days, 
arrived at the River Panuco, from whence they 
were enabled to return to Spain in September, 
1543. Thus ended an expedition which, dis- 
astrous as it was, gave to the Spaniards the hon- 
our of discovering the Mississippi ; and which; 



RIBAULT VISITS FLORIDA. 31 

with a more energetic people, might have led to 
important results. But though, under the name 
of Florida, Spain claimed the whole coast of 
North America, the ill success of this enterprise, 
and of another undertaken by Louis Cancello, a 
Dominican missionary, in 1547, in which he per- 
ished by the hands of the savages, discouraged 
any farther attempts, and the country remained 
neglected for a series of years. 



CHAPTER III. 

Settlement of Florida. 

1562. — The next attempt to settle Florida v/as 
made for the purpose of establishing a colony of 
Calvinists. Coligny planned this expedition in 
order to provide a refuge for the Huguenots, and 
intrusted the command of it to John Ribault, of 
Dieppe, a brave man, a good seaman, and a firm 
Protestant. He made the land in the neighbour- 
hood of St. Augustine, discovered the river now 
called St. John's, and gave to it the name of 
May. It is the St. Mateo of the Spaniards. At 
length they came to Port Royal entrance, afford- 
C 



32 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

ing a magnificent harbour. Leaving a party on 
Lemon Island, consisting of twenty-six men, to 
keep possession of the country, and erecting a 
fort there, which he named Carolana, in honour 
of Charles IX., Pubault determined to return to 
France for supplies. On arriving there, however, 
he found the country distracted with civil war ; 
and, being unable to obtain the necessary succour 
for the colonists, they attempted to return home. 
They were taken by a small English vessel on 
their way, the feeblest of them landed on the 
coast of France, and the others carried to Eng- 
land. Thus disastrously terminated the first at- 
tempt of France to establish a colony in Florida, 
not far from the southern border of South Caro- 
lina. 

1564. — After the treacherous peace concluded 
by Charles IX. with the Huguenots, Coligny re- 
newed his solicitations for the settlement of Flor- 
ida. The king granted him three ships for the 
purpose ; and Laudonniere, a man of intelligence, 
who had accompanied the former expedition, 
was appointed to conduct the present. Emigrants 
were easily induced to embark for a region where, 
according to rumour, the deliciousness of the cli» 
mate leno^thened to twice its usual term the life 
of man ; and where treasures were to be found by 



SETTLEMENT AT THE RIVER MAY. 33 

all who sought them. A voyage of sixty days 
by the way of the Canaries and Antilles, brought 
the fleet to the American coast. They avoided 
Port Royal harbour, associated as it was with 
recollections of misery, and, after some examina- 
tion of the country, planted themselves on the 
banks of the River May. Here they joined in a 
hymn of thanksgiving, and, gathering courage 
from devotion, prepared to engage in the toils 
necessary to provide for their subsistence and 
safety. Their first care was to erect a fort, to 
which they also gave the name of Carolana. 
The natives received them with kindness 3 and 
had not the colonists been chiefly men of disso- 
lute character, all might have been well. But 
some of them quitting the settlement under pre- 
tence of escaping from famine, entered upon a 
career of piracy against the Spaniards, which 
was soon, however, avenged ; their vessel was 
taken ; and a few of them escaping in a boat, 
sought shelter at Carolana, where Laudonniere 
sentenced the ringleaders to death. 

Meanwhilie the scarcity increased, and they 
had forfeited the friendship of the natives ; the 
winter passed without tidings from France, and, 
in despair, they resolved to construct some brig- 
antines and return to Europe. Just at that time, 



34 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Sir John Hawkins, the slave-trader, arrived with 
a cargo of Africans. He furnished them liberally 
with provisions, and giving them a vessel from 
his own fleet, they were on the point of embark- 
ing, when they discovered approaching sails. It 
was Ribault returning to assume the command, 
bringing with him supplies of every kind, emi- 
grants with their families, garden seeds, imple- 
ments of husbandry, and domestic animals. The 
French rejoiced in the prospect of acquiring for 
themselves a peaceful and secure home; and 
Calvinism seemed about to be permanently es- 
tablished in the inviting regions of Florida. 

1565. — But Spain had never relinquished her 
claim to that territory. Philip II., therefore, de- 
termined on its conquest and colonization, and a 
bold commander, named Pedro Melendez Aviles, 
long accustomed to scenes of blood, undertook to 
accomplish his sovereign's wishes. He promised 
that in the following May he would invade Flor- 
ida with five hundred men, raised and supported 
at his own cost ; and that within three years he 
would complete its subjugation, explore its rivers, 
examine its coasts and harbours, settle a colony 
of at least five hundred persons, of whom one 
hundred should be married men, and introduce 
twelve ecclesiastics, besides four Jesuits : and he 



EXPEDITION OF MELENDEZ. 35 

farther stipulated that he would import all kinds 
of domestic animals. The bigoted Philip had no 
scruples respecting slavery, and Melendez also 
agreed to bring five hundred men slaves into the 
country to cultivate the sugar-cane, which was 
intended to be the principal staple. 

The king, in turn, granted various commer- 
cial privileges to the adventurers, conferring on 
Melendez the office of governor for life, with the 
right of naming his son-in-law as his successor, 
an estate of twenty-five leagues in the immediate 
vicinity of the settlement, a salary of two thou- 
sand ducats chargeable on the revenues of the 
province, and a fifteenth part of all royal per- 
quisites. 

1565. — In the mean time news reached Spain 
that the Huguenots had made a settlement in 
Florida, and that Ribault was preparing to sail 
with re-enforcements. A cry was raised that the 
heretics must be destroyed, the enthusiasm of fa- 
naticism was kindled, and Melendez readily ob- 
tained all the forces he required. It was on the day 
which the authority of Rome has consecrated to 
the memory of one of the sons of Africa, a most 
venerated father of the Church, that he came in 
sight of Florida. After sailing along the coast 
for four days, uncertain where the French were 



36 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

established, he landed on the fifth, and obtained 
accounts of them from the Indians. To the 
beautiful harbour and river which he there dis- 
covered he gave, in commemoration of the saint 
on whose anniversary he first saw land, the name 
of St. Augustine. 

At noonday, on the festival of the Nativity of 
the Holy Virgin, the governor went on shore to 
take possession of the country in the name of 
the Spanish king; and on this occasion Phihp 
was proclaimed monarch of all North America. 
The solemn mass of Our Lady was celebrated, 
and the foundation of St. Augustine was imme- 
diately laid. This is, by more than forty years, 
the oldest town in the United States. Houses 
are yet standing here which are said to have 
been built many years before Virginia was col- 
onized. 

The French deliberated whether they should 
strengthen their defences, and await the approach 
of the enemy, or take to their ships, and attack 
them by sea. Ribault resolved upon the latter 
course ; but a dreadful storm arising, every ship 
of the French fleet was wrecked on the rocks, 
about fifty leagues south of Fort Carolana, though 
most of the men were saved. Meanwhile, the 
Spaniards made their way to the unprotected 



MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH. 37 

fort, and massacred the feeble garrison without 
mercy J a small number only escaping into the 
woods, and, among them, Laudonniere, Challus, 
and Le Moine, who have left us an account of 
their sufferings. They at last found their way 
to the seashore, and were received on board of 
some ships that had remained in the harbour. 

The shipwrecked men were soon discovered; 
and, half famished, and exhausted by fatigue, 
Melendez invited them to surrender, at the same 
time holding out to them hopes of mercy. The 
unfortunate Frenchmen yielded ; but, as soon as 
they approached the fort of St. Augustine, they 
were inhumanly massacred : not, as their murder- 
ers asserted, as Frenchmen, but as Calvinists. A 
few Catholics were spared, and some mechanics 
w^ere also reserved as slaves. The number thus 
barbarously butchered was supposed to be not 
less than nine hundred. 

1567. — The French government heard of this 
outrage without even making a remonstrance; 
but the nation and the Huguenots did not share 
the apathy of the court. Dominic de Gour- 
gues, a bold soldier of Gascony, sold his prop- 
erty, and, being farther aided by the contributions 
of his friends, equipped three vessels, in which, 
with one hundred and fifty men, he embarked for 
D 



38 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

Florida. His sole object was destruction and 
revenge; and having succeeded in surprising 
two forts near the mouth of the St. Mateo Riv- 
er, the consternation of the Spaniards was ex- 
treme. But, not being sufficiently strong to 
maintain his position, he made a hasty retreat, 
and sailed for Europe; having first hung his 
prisoners on the trees, with this inscription placed 
over them : " I do not this as unto Spaniards or 
mariners, but as unto traitors, robbers, and mur- 
derers." The natives, who had been ill-treated 
both by the Spaniards and French, enjoyed the 
savage consolation of seeing their enemies butch- 
er each other. 

1568. — France disavowed the expedition of De 
Gourgues, and yielded her pretensions to Spain ; 
which power, so far as discovery could give her 
any right, had certainly the best claim. 

The history of the first discoverers and explo- 
rers of this New World shows that they were by 
no means fortunate. Columbus was loaded with 
irons ; Munez de Balboa and Sir Walter Raleigh 
were beheaded ; Fernando Cortez was reduced 
to a state of poverty at his death; Magellan, 
Diaz de Solis, and Ponce de Leon were pierced 
by Indian arrows ; Pizarro was assassinated by 
rebels ; two of his brothers were put to death, 



FATE OF FIRST DISCOVERERS OF AMERICA. 39 

the one in prison, the other on a scaffold, where 
Almagro and his son also laid their heads; 
Cartier, Verazzani, and Gilbert perished in the 
waves ; Hernandez de Soto and Herville \vere 
cut off by fever in the flower of their age, the 
one on the banks of the Mississippi, the other at 
the Havana; Ribault was massacred by the 
Spaniards ; La Salle met his death from an assas- 
sin ; Hudson, with his son, w^as thrown over- 
board by a mutinous crew^ ; and Baffin was slain 
in battle. Thus misfortunes and a violent death 
were, in almost every instance, the only reward 
of courage, perseverance, and genius. 

The first colonies were no less unfortunate. 
The French, in endeavouring to establish them- 
selves in Canada, suffered so much from the se- 
verity of the climate and the attacks of the na- 
dves, that they several times gave up the under- 
taking in despair. A company of adventurers 
Avho had sailed for the St. Lawrence were never 
afterward heard of. We have already seen 
what was the fate of Ribault in Florida, and the 
course of this history will show that of the ex- 
pediton of La Salle. 

But these were not the only obstacles that the 
new colonists had to contend with. Labour and 
hardships to which they had been entirely unac- 



40 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

customed, combined with the diseases incident 
to new countries to thin their ranks ; and thus 
the numbers of the survivers were wholly insuf- 
ficient to till the ground, and defend the sick and 
helpless against the hostUe savages, who were 
constantly prowling about, and often, in the ab- 
sence of the father, murdered or carried off his 
wife and children. The colonists themselves 
added to the horrors of their situation by espous- 
ing the quarrels of the European powers, and by 
caUing in the dreadful assistance of Indian war- 
fare in their battles with each other. It may 
safely be asserted, that more lives were lost in 
the settlement of America than the most popu- 
lous state in our Union now contains. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Expedition of Joliet and Marquette.— Hennepin.— La Salle, 

1673. — At this period, France had permanent- 
ly established her power in Canada. The Rock 
of Quebec was surmounted by fortifications, Mon- 
treal had been founded, and forts were erected 
at Richelieu, on Lake Chambly, and Lake Cham- 



CHARACTER OF FRENCH MISSIONARIES. 41 

plain. The savage tribes, partly overawed by 
the military, and partly persuaded by the mis- 
sionaries, had placed themselves under French 
protection at a general assembly held at the Sault 
de Ste. Marie. The church and army engaged 
with equal zeal in making discoveries, the one 
to win souls for heaven, the other to increase the 
power and riches of France. Fathers Marquette 
and Hennepin were conspicuous for the ardour 
and perseverance with which they prosecuted 
their undertakings; but many others, whose 
names are now forgotten, equalled them in chari- 
ty and self-devotion. One of these, w^ho attached 
himself to a party of Indians driven from their 
homes by a hostile tribe, thus writes to his supe- 
rior : " Our company consists of fifty people, men, 
women, and children, all in the most destitute 
condition. For our provisions we depend on 
Him who feeds the young ravens ; we bear with 
us a load of sins and sorrows, and have great 
need of the prayers of our Christian brethren." 

1673. — A Frenchman named Joliet, from Pic- 
ardy, who had recently arrived in Canada, ac- 
companied Father Marquette in an exploring 
expedition to the West. There the Indians, whose 
language Marquette partly understood, told them 
of an enormous river which they called Mescha- 
D 2 



42 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

cebe — Father of Waters. On their return they 
communicated the information to Talon, first in- 
tendant of New-France, who concluded that, by 
going up to the source of this river, a passage to 
China might be found ! and that, in following it 
to its mouth, the Gulf of Mexico would be reach- 
ed. Marquette and Joliet, both impressed with 
the same idea, offered to undertake its explora- 
tion. Engaging four Indians as guides, they 
were carried by them in their bark canoes across 
Lake Michigan to Green Bay, and thence they as. 
cended the Fox River, whose banks were inhab- 
ited by a tribe of Indians of the same name. 
Crossing some mountains, they came to the Wis- 
consin, and, following its course, on the 7th of 
July, 1673, they discovered the Meschacebe, 
whose poetical name has been since changed to 
Mississippi, a word taken from the Iroquois 
language. On arriving at its shore, the Indians 
offered arrows, calumets, and ears of corn to the 
Father of Waters ; Joliet inspected the soil on its 
borders, exulting in its fertility, and Father Mar- 
quette, falling on his knees, offered up thanks to 
Heaven for so great a discovery. They now 
committed themselves to the stream, which bore 
them rapidly past the mouths of its three great 
tributaries, the Missouri, the Ohio, and the Ar- 



DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 43 

kan^as, at which last they stopped ; for, though 
they felt assured tliat this mighty river must have 
its outlet in the Gulf of Mexico, as their provis- 
ions were nearly expended, they resolved to re- 
turn. They at length got back, with incredible 
fatigue, to the mouth of the Illinois, whose stream 
they ascended till they reached the heights which 
separate it from Lake Michigan. Here the two 
adventurers parted company. Father Marquette 
to return to his humble labours among the Miami 
Indians, and Joliet to proceed to Quebec to give 
information of their success to Frontenac, the 
governor of New-France. The tidings were re- 
ceived with enthusiastic delight. The bells were 
rung during the whole day, and the bishop, the 
clergy, and all the authorities of the place went 
in procession to the Cathedral, where Te Deum 
was sung and high mass celebrated. 

1678. — Notwithstanding the great excitement 
produced by this event, it did not lead immedi- 
ately to any farther undertakings. The good 
Father Marquette dying soon after, and Joliet 
becoming wholly occupied by commercial affairs, 
the Great River remained unnoticed in the wil- 
derness, and its discovery seemed almost forgot- 
ten, when attention to it was suddenly revived 
by another enterprising Frenchman. Robert 



44 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Cavelier de La Salle had belonged to the order 
of Jesuits ; but, leaving the society, and finding 
himself destitute of property in consequence of 
the civil death he had incurred by entering into 
a religious community, he embarked for Canada 
to seek his fortune. Courageous, enterprising, 
and persevering, he was precisely the man to 
complete the undertaking so favourably com- 
menced by Marquette and Joliet. He offered his 
services to the governor, promising to explore 
the Mississippi to its mouth if he were provided 
with the necessary means. Frontenac advising 
him to submit his proposals to the court of 
France, he returned immediately home, where 
gaining the influence of Colbert and of the 
Prince of Conti, Louis XIV. was easily persuaded 
to grant him the needed assistance. A ship, 
well manned and supplied, was equipped for him, 
and the Chevalier de Tonti, a brave Italian of- 
ficer, having joined him in the enterprise, he set 
sail from Rochelle on the 14th of June, 1678. 
La Salle had received from the king two sealed 
parchments, one giving him the command of 
Fort Frontenac, the other granting him a monop- 
oly of the fur-trade in all the countries he should 
discover. 

On arriving at Quebec, he proceeded at once to 



EXPEDITION OF LA SALLE. 45 

Lake Ontario, where he put Fort Frontenac in a 
state of defence, had another fort erected at the 
upper extremity of the lake, and employed him- 
self in exploring the surrounding country, while a 
vessel was building for him on Lake Erie. Every- 
thing being ready, he embarked on board of her 
in September of 1679, with forty men, among 
whom was Father Hennepin, a man fully worthy 
to be the successor of Marquette. They passed 
through the strait which connects Lakes Erie and 
Huron, and, entering Lake Michigan, erected a 
fort on the River St. Joseph. There they were 
met by Tonti, who had come by a different route. 
Passing over to the Illinois together, they built 
Fort Crevecceur on its banks; and, descending 
with the current, reached the Mississippi. 

La Salle resolved first to ascend the stream, ho- 
ping thereby to discover the supposed passage to 
China, and deeming it also advisable to attempt 
finding an easier hne of communication between 
Canada and this important river. 

Accordingly, Father Hennepin, with two othei 
Frenchmen, went up its channel in a bark canoe, 
taking particular note of its numerous tributaries 
as they passed along. Some miles below the 
mouth of the St. Peter's they came to a cataract, 
which they called the Falls of St. Anthony, and. 



46 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

carrying their canoe past it, embarked on the 
river above, to which they gave the name of St. 
Francis. At length they fell in with a party of 
Sioux Indians, who made them prisoners; but 
they were well treated, and adopted by some of 
the chiefs. They did not remain long with 
them, however ; for, leaving them at the end of 
three months, they again descended the Missis- 
sippi, passed up the Wisconsin, from thence pro- 
ceeded to MichiHmackinac, and returned to 
Canada. 

1682. — La Salle in the mean time remained 
among the Illinois, with the view of forming an 
establishment there. His efforts were baffled by 
the jealousy of the Indians, and even of some of 
his French companions, who, it is said, attempt- 
ed to poison him. A war among the Indians 
rendering his position insecure, he built, on a 
high bank commanding the river, a fort, to which 
he gave the name of St. Louis, for its protection. 
This was the germe of the future city of that 
name. Stationing most of his party there, he 
himself returned to Canada, engaged fresh ad- 
venturers, and, again embarking on the Mississip- 
pi, resolved to explore it in its whole extent. 
They passed the Arkansas, where Joliet and 
Marquette had terminated their voyage, and the 



LA SALLE DESCENDS THE MISSISSIPPI. 47 

current rapidly swept them along through un- 
known countries. The distance appeared to 
them interminable ; and all began to despair ex- 
cept La Salle, who encouraged them to persevere, 
until at length his constancy was rewarded w-ith 
success: they finally found the river separating 
into seven branches, and soon after beheld it 
discharging its enormous volume of v^^ater into 
the Gulf of Mexico. 

Nearly the entire length of the Mississippi had 
now been explored ; and, according to the cus- 
tom by which discoveries were then regulated, 
the whole of the vast valley through which it 
flows was claimed for France. La Salle took pos- 
session of it with the usual forms, and gave to 
it the name of Louisiana. 

The Mississippi, rising near the forty-ninth 
parallel of latitude, and separating the Missouri 
from the Northwest Territory, runs in a south- 
southeast direction, receiving the waters of innu- 
merable tributaries both from the east and west, 
until it finally reaches its termination, after a 
winding course of three thousand miles. Next 
to the Amazon, it is considered the largest river 
in the world ; although the Missouri has certainly 
a better claim to that distinction, its length, before 
it joins the Mississippi, being one hundred miles 
D 



48 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

greater than that of the whole course of its rival. 
Not only is it as broad and as deep, but it com- 
municates its own character to it. Before their 
junction, the Mississippi is a transparent, gently- 
flowing stream, studded with numerous islands ; 
but when the Missouri rushes into it, it disturbs 
its whole current as far as the opposite bank; 
then (owing, probably, to the greater density of 
its waters) it disappears for nearly ten miles, the 
colour of the Mississippi being but little changed 
by its new ally ; and it is not before you approach 
St. Louis that the two rivers are distinctly seen, 
flowing unmingled side by side, until at length 
they unite in a yellow, turbid torrent, running at 
a rate of about four miles an hour. The distance 
from the junction of the two rivers to the Gulf 
of Mexico is one thousand three hundred miles. 
There are no tides in the Mississippi. It fre- 
quently overflows the country south of the Red 
River, which is a low alluvial tract, intersected 
wdth innumerable streams and lakes. The allu- 
vial lands bordering on the river are from one to 
ten miles broad, and extremely fertile, covered 
w^ith cotton-wood trees, magnolia, honey locust, 
pawpaw, buckeye, and palmetto. On the sandy 
uplands, pines and oaks are seen. Towards the 
north these gradually give place to the Ken- 



LA SALLE RETURNS TO FRANCE. 49 

tucky coffee-tree, pear, apple, maple, peach, va- 
rieties of oak, and all the trees of a northern 
climate. Wild grapevines hang from them in 
festoons ; wild rice grows in the northern parts 
of the country, and in the south the cotton-plant 
offers its stores of wealth. It would be impossi- 
ble to enumerate all the vegetable productions 
that grow spontaneously in this fertile region, or 
that have been, in the progress of cultivation, in- 
troduced into it; and there are probably few 
plants that would not find a congenial soil and 
climate in some part of this immense valley. 

It will readily be supposed that La Salle was 
not a little elated by his discovery: he hastened 
back to Quebec, and immediately set sail for 
France. He had, indeed, nobly redeemed his 
promise, and given to his sovereign a territory 
unequalled in extent and importance ; w^hich, 
spanning like a bow the American Continent, and 
completely hemming in the English possessions 
(as yet reaching but little beyond the seaboard), 
might have rendered France the mistress of the 
world. 

1684. — Preparations for colonizing Louisiana 
were made in the early part of this year. Four 
vessels were equipped to carry out two hundred 
and eighty persons. One hundred of these were 



50 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

soldiers, commanded by Joutel, the brother oi 
La Salle, and another brother, the Abbe Cavelier 
and two nephews, were wdth him. Mechanics 
and a small number of w^omen and children gave 
hopes of a permanent settlement ; and som^ 
thirty volunteers and a few ecclesiastics comple- 
ted the party. But those who undertake to col- 
onize a new country are rarely the best of their 
kind. The soldiers were undisciplined vagabonds, 
whom their commander, a man of sense and 
courage, was unable, with all his efforts, to man- 
age ; the mechanics were ignorant and without 
experience; and, worst of all, the naval com- 
mander, Beaujeu, was totally unfit to be the as- 
sociate of the heroic La Salle, and by his jealousy 
and foolish pride he baffled and defeated his 
well-laid plans. 

The voyage, in its commencement, was marked 
by disasters ; and it was not long before serious 
differences arose between Beaujeu and La Salle. 
Having passed the mouth of the Mississippi without 
observing it. La Salle soon discovered the error, 
and proposed to return ; but Beaujeu refused, and 
persisted in sailing to the w^est, till they had 
reached the Bay of St. Bernard. There he left 
La Salle and the little colony on an unknown 
coast with a single vessel, and with the remain- 
der of the fleet returned to France. 



SETTLEMENT OF LA SALLE IN TEXAS. 51 

La Salle prepared to make the best arrange- 
ments he could for the safety and comfort of his 
companions, intending, after he had provided for 
their security, to embark in his boats in search of 
the Mississippi ; but, through the carelessness of 
the pilot, the vessel was wrecked, and many of 
their stores lost. Though this disaster struck his 
comrades with despair, it had little effect on the 
firmness of La Salle, who calmly proceeded to 
select a site for a fortified post, to which he gave 
the name of St. Louis. This spot sloped gently 
towards the west, presenting the prospect of a 
beautiful country, verdant with luxuriant herb- 
age, and variegated with groups of trees ; and 
south and east lay the Bay of Matagorda, skirted 
with prairies. The waters abounded with fish, 
flights of wild fowl filled the air, and the fields 
"vrere alive with bisons, deer, and wild turkeys. 
The fort was erected, the arms of France were 
carved on the trees, and Texas was formally ta- 
ken possession of as a part of her dominions. Nor 
did she, so long as Louisiana was hers, ever re- 
linquish her rights to the territory thus colonized 
under her banners, but persisted in claiming it as 
far as the Rio del Norte 3 and her title, indeed, 
was considered so clear, that Bernard de la Harpe 
attempted at a later period to occupy the country 



52 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

anew. But, though France was not sufficiently 
powerful permanently to push her settlements 
thus far, the mouth of the Rio del Norte continued 
to be considered as the western limit of Louisiana 
on the Gulf of Mexico, and the English geogra- 
phers allowed the claim. 

Though the excursions made in the vicinity of 
Fort St. Louis gave abundant evidence of the 
beauty of the country and the fertility of the 
soil. La Salle was far from being contented with 
his situation, and resolved to coast along the 
shore with canoes for the purpose of finding the 
Mississippi. The arms and canoes of the Indians 
at Matagorda bore a striking resemblance to 
those he had seen on that river, and this induced 
him to believe that he could not be far from it. 
Still he was unable to obtain the smallest infor- 
mation from these savages, who were extremely 
shy and unfriendly. He spent four months in 
vainly seeking for this mighty river, and return- 
ed to his companions. In April he ti'aversed the 
wilderness towards New-Mexico, in hopes of 
discovering mines. Among the Cenis he found 
wild horses, and abundant supplies of maize and 
beans, but nowhere any traces of the precious 
metals J the only wealth of the country consisted 
in its exuberant fertility. 



LA SALLE STARTS FOR CANADA. 53 

Meanwhile Tonti, by virtue of an understanding 
between himself and La Salle, had left his post 
on the Illinois, and descended the Mississippi, to 
meet him on his arrival. He remained there for 
some months, seeking for him along the coasts of 
the gulf, until finally, despairing of success, he 
returned to Fort Crevecoeur ; a few of his com- 
panions deserting him on the way, and remaining 
behind on the Arkansas. 

1687. — The situation of La Salle had become 
extremely critical. From a sulky indifference, 
the savages had proceeded to acts of open hos- 
tility. The colony was threatened with famine, 
and its usual consequence, rebellion. Every ex- 
pedition had diminished their numbers, until at 
last they were reduced to thirty-seven men. 
From among these La Salle selected sixteen, and 
started with the desperate resolution of finding 
his way to Canada, or of perishing in the attempt. 

In the party there were two brothers of the 
name of Lancelot, the younger of whom, after 
two days' journey, became unable to proceed any 
farther, and was permitted to return to the fort. 
His brother wished to accompany him ; but La 
Salle considered it imprudent to diminish the 
strength of his company, even then insufficient 
for so dangerous a journey. He refused, there- 



54 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

fore, to let him go ; and the young man return- 
ing alone, was murdered by the Indians. The 
surviving brother vowed revenge ; but he did not 
find an opportunity to execute his purpose till 
two months after, when, with some accomplices, 
he first murdered a nephew of La Salle, and 
then, concealing themselves in a canebrake, the 
conspirators fired at their commander himself. 
He received a death-wound, and expired on the 
19th of May, 1687, near the western branch of 
Trinity River. His murderers avoided the ven- 
geance of his friends by quitting the party, which, 
now reduced to seven men, continued their march 
through tribes of Indians, who treated them with 
kindness. They at length reached the country 
of the Natchitoches ; and, four months after the 
death of La Salle, arrived at the junction of the 
Arkansas with the Mississippi. There they were 
surprised at the sight of a cross, which had been 
set up by those companions of Tonti who had 
left him there on his return. This unexpected 
indication encouraged them to persevere in as- 
cending the Mississippi, and they finally arrived 
safely in Canada. 

The few unfortunate individuals left behind 
by La Salle at the Bay of St. Bernard soon fell 
victims to the barbarity of the Indians, with the 



DEATH AND CHARACTER OF LA SALLE. 55 

exception of five children, whose lives were 
spared; and these, afterward falling into the 
hands of the Spaniards, made known the fate of 
the unhappy colonists. 

The death of La Salle put an end to all pres- 
ent prospects of colonization. It is little to the 
credit of France or of Louisiana that neither of 
them have shown the smallest mark of respect 
to his memory. A bust placed by order of Con- 
gress in the Rotunda of the Capitol, is the only 
memorial of a man whose enterprising genius 
and persevering resolution merit the highest hon- 
ours. 



CHAPTER V. 

Expedition of Iberville,— Mississippi Company. — Fountlatiou of 
New-Orleans by Bienville. 

For several years after the death of La Salle, 
France, either discouraged by the ill success of 
this first attempt at colonization, or wholly occu- 
pied in war, abandoned its settlers on the Mis- 
sissippi entirely to their own resources. Their 
numbers were unequal to the laborious task of 
E 



56 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

clearing and cultivating the soil ; and fishing, 
hunting, and trading in furs became their prin- 
cipal occupation. Many of them, associating 
with the Indians in these pursuits, became assim- 
ilated to them in character, and adopted their 
roving and unsettled habits. But the ill effects 
of this companionship were soon felt : game be- 
gan to grow scarce ; and the Indians, finding 
the strangers interfering with their trifling com- 
merce, conceived a jealousy of them which finally 
led to serious consequences. 

1697. — The peace of Ryswick, concluded in 
1697, left France at leisure to turn her attention 
to her neglected subjects, who had been for the 
last ten years lost sight of among the wilds of 
Louisiana. Lemoine d'Iberville, a brave naval 
officer, who had distinguished himself by several 
daring actions during the last war, volunteered 
to renew the explorations commenced by La Salle 
on the Gulf of Mexico. Two vessels were al- 
lowed him ; and, departing from Rochefort on 
the 17th of October, he first put in to St. Domingo. 
From thence he again set sail in the following- 
January, and directed his course towards the Bay 
of Pensacola, where the Spaniards had made a 
small settlement. They protested against what 
they called an invasion of a country which they 



VOYAGE OF IBERVILLE. 57 

claimed as belonging to Mexico ; but, having no 
power to impede his operations, he successively 
reconnoitred the Bay of Mobile, now the seat of 
a considerable city, the Isle of Dauphine, the 
River Pascagoula, and the Bay of Biloxi, and on 
the 20th of March, 1698, arrived at the mouth 
of the Mississippi. He entered the river without 
any positive assurance that it was the same that 
had been discovered by La Salle, when a fortu- 
nate accident removed every doubt. A letter, 
written by Tonti thirteen years before, at the 
time he descended the Mississippi in search 
of La Salle, and which had been intrusted to the 
care of a friendly Indian, w^as handed to Iber- 
ville, and proved of incalculable service, as it 
gave a particular account of the discoveries of 
his predecessors, and described the marks by 
which they could be recognised. 

Thus guided, Iberville passed some distance 
up the Mississippi, entered the outlet that bears 
his name, discovered Lakes Maurepas and Pont- 
chartrain, and, coming into the Bay of Biloxi, 
was so pleased with its advantages that he de- 
cided to establish there his first settlement. But, 
after building a fort, he perceived that he had 
chosen an injudicious location ; and, abandoning 
it, he selected another at Mobile, which was also 



58 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

deserted for the Isle of Dauphine. Barracks and 
storehouses were afterward built there, and this 
island was for some years the headquarters of 
the colony. 

It does not seem to have struck Iberville that 
his principal establishment should have been on 
the largest navigable river, though he did not 
entirely neglect the Mississippi. He caused a 
fort, which he called Balize, to be erected at the 
mouth of the river ; and, after completing many 
important works, he returned to France to solicit 
farther assistance for his infant colony. During 
his absence his two brothers faithfully seconded 
his views. Saurolle, the eldest, took charge of 
the interior affairs of the colony, and Bienville, 
the younger, was indefatigable in endeavouring 
to keep up a good understanding with the sur- 
rounding tribes. 

1699. — As the latter was descending the Mis- 
sissippi, on his return from a visit to the Indians, 
he perceived an English vessel of war, mounting 
sixteen guns, at anchor in the river. A project- 
ing point had obliged her commander to wait for 
a favourable wind. Being questioned by Bien- 
ville, he informed him that there was another 
ship of the same force at the mouth of the river, 
and that they had been sent out by their govern- 



IBERVILLE VISITED BY TONTI. 59 

merit to discover the Mississippi, and to ascertain 
the practicability of establishing a colony on its 
banks. Inquiring of Bienville if this was not the 
river they were seeking, he replied that the Mis- 
sissippi was much farther to the west, and that 
the river they were now in was a dependancy of 
the French colonies in Canada. The credulous 
commander immediately weighed anchor and 
departed ; and the place where this occurrence 
took place has ever since been called the " Eng- 
lish Turn." 

1699. — Iberville came back from France in 
December, and shortly after he received an un- 
expected visit. Tonti, the brave companion of 
La Salle, had received tidings in Illinois, where he 
still remained, of the new colony formed by his 
countrymen at the South ; and, taking seven 
men with him, he had descended the Mississippi 
to assure himself of the fact. The brothers joy- 
fully received this new friend ; and, on his return, 
Iberville and Bienville accompanied him as far 
as the country of the Natchez. There Bienville 
fixed on the site of Fort Rosalie, afterward the 
scene of a bloody war, and there the friends 
parted, with promises of mutual support and as- 
sistance. 

1706. — It was not long before Louisiana had 



60 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

to lament the loss of some of her best and bra- 
vest settlers. The search for gold and precious 
stones proved fatal to several of the adventurers 
who engaged in it. During the absence of Iber- 
ville, his second brother, Saurolle, fel] a vic- 
tim to the prevailing fever, which made dread- 
ful havoc in the little colony, and reduced its 
numbers to one hundred and fifty-five. Soon 
after his return, Iberville himself was attacked, 
barely escaping with his life ; but his constitution 
was shattered ; and though he so far recovered his 
strength as to be able to lend his assistance to 
the French arms in 1706, the effort was followed 
by a severe illness, of which he died at the Ha- 
vana. He had commenced his career as a vol- 
unteer in the midnight attack upon Schenecta- 
da, in which he was chiefly remembered for an 
act of clemency. Rising afterward to the high- 
est distinction in the French navy, and acknowl- 
edged to be the bravest and most skilful officer 
in that service, Canada was justly proud of such 
a son. After the peace of Ryswick his indefat- 
igable spirit led him to seek a commission for 
completing the undertaking commenced by the 
unfortunate La Salle, and permanently establish- 
ing the French power on the banks of the Mis- 
sissippi. 



STATE OF THE COLONY. 61 

At his death Louisiana was Httle more than a 
wilderness. The colonists had unwisely directed 
nearly all their attention to a vain search for 
mines of gold, or to the trade in furs, instead of 
occupying themselves with cultivating a soil 
whose fertility would have richly repaid their 
labour. Their scanty numbers, instead of being 
engaged in the profitable toils of husbandry, 
were widely scattered on distant journeys of dis- 
covery, or among the Indian tribes in quest of 
furs. Of the lands that were occupied, Biloxi 
was a barren sand; the soil of Isle Dauphine 
was poor ; and at the fort on the Delta of the 
Mississippi, the young Bienville and his few sol- 
diers were completely isolated, at the mercy of 
the floods of the river, and obliged to dispute 
the possession of the country with moschetoes, 
frogs, snakes, and alligators, which seemed per- 
petually to remind them of their folly, and to 
warn them to seek for a home in some more fa- 
vourable situation. 

But Bienville was in all respects worthy to be 
the brother of Iberville; fitted to accomplish 
what he had not been permitted to finish, and 
to win for himself an honourable name in the 
annals of Louisiana. 

1712. — But the colony was still doomed tr 



62 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

struggle with misfortune. The mother country 
was again plunged into war, and could no longer 
afford them any assistance. At this juncture, 
Antoine de Crozat, who had amassed an enor- 
mous fortune in the East India trade, purchased 
a grant of the entire country, with the exclusive 
right of commerce for sixteen years, the govern- 
ment retaining only the prerogative of sovereignty. 
The speculation, however, did not succeed j and 
Crozat, after ruining himself and injuring the colo- 
ny, in 1717 surrendered all his privileges. 

But the failure of Crozat did not discourage 
other adventurers. A number of these having 
united, and formed what was called the Missis- 
sippi Company, they obtained from government 
a charter, to continue for twenty-seven years, 
granting them a complete monopoly of the trade, 
and of mines ; an exclusive right to cede lands, 
ports, and islands ; exemption from duties j the 
power to appoint judges ; the prerogative of 
making peace or war ; and, in short, all the rights 
of sovereignty, except the bare nominal title. 
But their greatest expectations were from the 
mines ; and on the strength of a former traveller, 
named Nicolas Perrot, having discovered a mine 
of copper in the valley of the River St. Peter's, 
the directors of the company assigned to the soil 



FORMATION OF MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. bS 

of Louisiana all kinds of treasures. The copper 
was metamorphosed into silver and gold ; and in 
the mud of the Mississippi diamonds and pearls 
were to be found. The secret agent of the com- 
pany was the notorious Law, who, not finding in 
Europe a theatre sufficiently wide for his financial 
operations, had extended them to the banks of 
the Mississippi. 

To form a capital for the company, its shares 
were sold at 500 livres each ; and such was the 
speculating mania of the times, that in a short 
time more than 100 millions were realized. This 
state of affairs, though it ruined a multitude of 
individuals, turned to the advantage of the colony. 
Great landholders came out, bringing with them 
numerous labourers, mechanics, &c. ; extensive 
clearings were made, and agriculture and com- 
merce flourished. 

1717. — The company had engaged to trans- 
port to Louisiana 6000 white persons and 8000 
blacks during the continuance of its charter. In 
1718 it sent over 800 of the former. The Isle of 
Dauphine having been ravaged by the English 
in 1710, an(i its ports being filled up with the 
Band driven into it by a hurricane in 1717, the 
stores were transported to the Bay of Biloxi, 
which again becgrae the principal seat of the 



64 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

colony. But the reasons which had determined 
Iberville to abandon this latter station soon be- 
came apparent. The wretched colonists, crowded 
together on a barren shore, could find means 
neither to live on it nor to leave it. Great num- 
bers sunk under famine and disease ; and the sur- 
vivers were indebted to the Indians for being 
enabled to make their escape, and to disperse 
themselves through the neighbouring country. 

1718. — Bienville felt the necessity of forming 
an establishment, which, from its local advanta- 
ges, might become the future metropolis of the 
country ; and in seeking for such a spot, not too 
far removed from the shore, and in a situation to 
command the resources of that extensive region, 
he fixed on the site now occupied by the city of 
New^-Orleans. 

The plan of the future city embraced the pres- 
ent Parish of Orleans, and was laid out in imita- 
tion of Rochefort. The original town, now call- 
ed the old city, is in the form of a parallelogram, 
of which the longer sides are 1320 yards, and 
the shorter 700. The houses were built of wood ; 
the streets were narrow, not exceeding forty feet 
in width, and one of them still bears the name ox 
Bienville. The city stands on the left bank of 
the river, at a distance of 90 miles from its mouth 



ADVANTAGES OF NEW-ORLEANS. 65 

in a direct line, and 105 miles following the 
course of the stream. It was impracticable to 
place it nearer the gulf, as the long slip of land 
through which the river flows for the last hun- 
dred miles is little else than a marsh. Even in 
its present site the town is surrounded by 
swamps ; and the country being lower than the 
surface of the river during times of flood, it has 
been found necessary to raise high embankments, 
called levees, to protect it from inundation. This 
barrier does not always prove sufficient 3 and 
breaks, or, as the French call them, crevasses, 
often occur, when the water, rushing in, and con- 
tinually widening the passage, spreads destruc- 
tion all around. But if Bienville made an un- 
fortunate selection as it regards health and com- 
fort, it must be admitted that a better site could 
not have been chosen for a great commercial 
emporium. The command of the Mississippi, 
wdth its numerous navigable tributaries, the easy 
access from the sea, and the facility of securing it 
against hostile invasion, are advantages which 
must render it eventually one of the most impor- 
tant, and, perhaps, the largest of all the cities of 
America. 

1719. — Alberoni, the restless minister of Spain, 
having, in* opposition to the interests of both 



66 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

countries, involved his nation in a war with 
France, De Sevigny arrived in Louisiana in Feb- 
ruary of this year, with orders to take possession 
of the settlement and Bay of Pensacola. This 
bay received the name of Anchusa in the time of 
De Soto; and subsequently it was called Mary, 
and St. Mary of Galves. In 1696, Don Andres 
Arriola had built upon its shores a fort, a church, 
and a few houses, in a situation unfavourable for 
commerce, agriculture, or productive labour of 
any kind. 

Bienville and his colonists rejoiced at an op- 
portunity to show their devotion to France ; and 
all the troops the young settlement could spare 
were withdrawn from the forts and garrisons to 
join the expedition, part of them proceeding by 
land to unite in the attack on Pensacola. 

Matamoro, the commander of the place, after 
a feeble resistance of five hours, surrendered; 
and by this conquest the French hoped to extend 
their power along the shores of the gulf, from 
the Rio del Norte to the Atlantic, But, having 
generously sent their prisoners to the Havana on 
parole, the treacherous governor of that post did 
not scruple to violate the courtesies of war, and, 
in contempt of a written capitulation, he impris- 
oned the commander, took possession of the two 



CAPTURE AND RECAPTURE OF PENSACOLA. 67 

French vessels, and sent them with a Spanish 
force to recover Pensacola. Its small garrison 
was unable to make any serious opposition, and, 
forty days after its capture, it was again taken 
by its original possessors. The Spaniards then 
made an attempt on the Isle Dauphine and Mo- 
bile, but without success. Bienville having been 
re-enforced by three ships of the line, under 
command of the brave Champmeslin, again be- 
sieged Pensacola. It was defended by Mata- 
moro, the same officer who had so^ easily yielded 
it before, and who did not manifest any greater 
resolution on the present occasion : he submitted, 
indeed, without firing a single cannon. The 
only resistance the French encountered was from 
the Spanish fleet under Don Alfonso, brother-in- 
law of the governor of Havana, who, after an 
obstinate engagement, was compelled to surren- 
der, and deliver up his sword to Champmeslin, 
which the latter returned with the courtesy due 
to a gallant enemy. Matamoro, however, he 
treated in a very different manner ; and remark- 
ing to him that he had disgraced the brave na- 
tion to which he belonged, he ordered one of his 
sailors to receive his sword. Thus Pensacola 
changed masters three times in the space of five 
months 3 but it was not destined permanently to 



68 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

remain a French possession, being restored to 
Spain at the close of the war in 1721. 

1720. — The settlements of Natchitoches and 
Illinois continued to increase in spite of the 
Indian wars they had to encounter. Five hun- 
dred negroes were about this time brought from 
Africa ; and more than twelve hundred individ- 
uals of various descriptions, including a number 
of women, left France to settle on the fertile 
banks of the Mississippi. But as the character 
of many of these new colonists was not such as 
to render them* a desirable acquisition, the West- 
ern Company obtained from the regent an order 
forbidding any more convicts to be transported 
to Louisiana. 

1721. — So sudden and considerable an ad- 
dition to their numbers soon caused a scarcity 
of provisions, which was followed by desertions, 
rebellion, and scenes of riot and assassination. 
Supplies were daily expected from France; but 
when the long - looked - for ship arrived, she 
brought also a large accession to the population. 
At another time these new-comers would have 
been most acceptable, but now they only in- 
creased the general distress. Bienville, however, 
having despatched a vessel to St. Domingo, she 
soon returned with the needed provisions, and 
their difficulties were for the time removed. 



DIVISION OF LOUISIANA INTO CANTONS. 69 

1722. — The bankruptcy of Law, which took 
place at this time, threw the colony into the 
greatest confusion, and occasioned wide-spread 
distress in France, where speculation had been 
carried to an extreme unknown before. Of 
course, the expenditures for Louisiana were in a 
great measure stopped, but the colony had now 
gained strength to struggle for itself. 

Duvergier was now appointed by the compa- 
ny, director, intendant, president of the council, 
and commandant of the marine. But, instead 
of turning his attention to the improvement of 
the colony, contrary to the advice of Bienville, 
he only sought to extend it. La Harpe attempt- 
ed to form a settlement at the Bay of St. Ber- 
nard ; but the Indians opposed it, and the plan was 
abandoned. Three commissioners were soon af- 
ter sent out, under the appointment of the regent, 
viz., Faget, Ferrand, and Machinet. They di- 
vided Louisiana into nine cantons : New-Orleans, 
Biloxi, Mobile, Alibamons, Natchez, Natchito- 
ches, Yazoos, Arkansas, and Illinois. Each can- 
ton was provided with a judge, appointed by the 
superior council. 

The commissioners reinstated Bienville in the 
presidency of the council, and by his advice fixed 
the seat of government at New-Orleans. This 



70 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

place then contained only a few wooden cottages, 
a storehouse, a small chapel, and two hundred 
inhabitants. 

An addition of a thousand negroes was this 
year made to the colony ; and two hundred and 
fifty German settlers also came over. Those of 
this nation who had previously occupied the lands 
of Law on the Arkansas, now returned to New- 
Orleans for the purpose of going back to their 
native country. Bienville induced them, how- 
ever, to remain, and gave them land on the 
banks of the river, which are nov/ known by the 
name of the German Settlements. 

The commissioners fixed the price of a slave 
at one hundred and seventy-six dollars, payable 
in three years either in rice or tobacco, the rice 
being valued at three dollars a barrel, and the 
tobacco at six and a half dollars ; a barrel of 
wine at six dollars, and a hogshead of brandy at 
thirty dollars. 

1723. — This year the colony suffered greatly 
from a dreadful hurricane, which lasted from the 
11th to the 16th of September, nearly destroying 
New-Orleans just as it was beginning to assume 
the appearance of a town. The corn and rice 
crops were almost ruined; but the rice being 
scattered about by the wind, springing up wher- 



SEASONS OF SCARCITY. 71 

ever it fell, produced another harvest, and this 
singular proof of the fertility of the soil gave 
great encouragement to the planters. Still sea- 
sons of scarcity occurred ; the infant colony was 
unable to raise enough for its support, and a com- 
pany of soldiers who had embarked at Biloxi for 
New-Orleans, fearful of famine, took possession 
of the vessel and sailed for Charleston. The 
colonists were obliged, also, to defend them- 
selves against the Indians, the Natchez having 
made an attack upon Fort Rosalie. The friend- 
ship of the Choctaws and Alibamons was like- 
wise very doubtful, and it was deemed necessa- 
ry to build two new forts, the one on the Tom- 
beckbee, the other on the Alabama. 

1724. — At this time the population of Louisi- 
ana amounted to five thousand. No Jews were 
permitted to settle in the colony. 

1725. — A singular law was this year enacted, 
inflicting the punishment of death on any one 
who should kill the cattle belonging to another, 
and a fine of sixty dollars on every person who 
should kill his own. It w^ould seem from this 
that they placed a higher value on horses and 
oxen than on men. 

1728. — Bienville returned this year to France 
after having passed twenty-nine years in Louisi 
F 



72 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

ana : he left Perier to succeed him in the super- 
intendence of the colony. 

Louisiana "was now in a prosperous condition. 
Many new settlers had arrived ; agriculture was 
improving ; and indigo, rice, and tobacco were 
successfully cultivated. Fig-trees had been brought 
from Provence, and those of the orange from St. 
Domingo ; and both were seen growing luxuriant- 
ly on the plantations around New-Orleans. The 
fig-tree has become completely naturalized ; but 
the orange, though it thrives well and produces 
fine fruit, is sometimes destroyed by severe win- 
ters. Land now began to acquire a higher value. 
The superior council annulled all rights to unoc- 
cupied lands which had been granted previous to 
the year 1723, and enjoined upon all proprietors 
to show their titles, and declare the quantity of 
land owned and occupied by them, under penalty 
of forfeiture. The share allotted to each proprie- 
tor was twenty-five acres along the river, or as 
much more as had been actually possessed and 
improved. Measures were taken for the con- 
struction of roads and levees, and for the defence 
of the colony, which at that time could muster 
only eight hundred soldiers, a force wholly in- 
sufficient for so extensive a country, surrounded 
as it was by warlike, and, for the most part, hostile 
tribes of savacces. 



THE ILLINOIS. 73 



CHAPTER VI. 

Indian Tribes. 



When the French commenced their settlements 
on the Mississippi, they found its banks occupied 
by different tribes of Indians, of which the prin- 
cipal were the Illinois, the Chickasaws, the Choc- 
taws, and the Natchez, all on the eastern side of 
the river. The Illinois inhabited the country now 
bearing their name : though their numbers were 
considerable, they were sparsely scattered over an 
extensive territory. The region bounded by the 
Ohio on the north, the Mississippi on the west, 
on the east by the Cumberland River, and extend- 
ing south into what is at present the State of Mis- 
sissippi, w^as the country of the Chickasaws, the 
allies of the English, and inveterate enemies of 
the French. Marquette found them, in his time, 
already in possession of guns, obtained probably 
from Virginia. La Salle built a fort, to which 
he gave the name of Prud'homme, on one of the 
bluffs bordering on the river within their terri- 
tory ; but their favourite place of abode was in 
the upland country which gives rise to the Yazoo 



74 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

and the Tombeckbee, and which possesses per- 
haps the finest climate and most fruitful soil on 
the Continent ; where the herbage is verdant in 
mid-whiter, and where the bluebird and robin are 
heard in February ; where springs of the purest 
water bubble up through the white sand, and flow 
through natural bowers of evergreen holly; and 
where, if the earth be but sufficiently scratched 
to cover the kernels of maize, an abundant 
crop succeeds. No wonder that the occupants 
of this pleasant and fruitful region, savage as they 
were, should have highly prized it, and exerted 
all their courage in its defence. 

Below the Chickasaws, between the Mississippi 
and the Tombeckbee, was the land of the Choc- 
taws, who, on their eastern frontier, were collect- 
ed in villages, but w^ere fewer in numbers and 
more widely scattered throughout the rest of their 
territory. Their country was favourable to till- 
age, the soil being fertile, and the surface level 
or gently undulating; and they were more of ag- 
riculturists than any of the North American tribes, 
subsisting chiefly upon corn, and depending but 
little on the chase. They were a formidable na- 
tion, and could bring four thousand warriors into 
the field. They spoke a dialect of the Mobilian, 
the prevalent language of the Southern Indians, 



ACCOUNT OF THE NATCHEZ. 75 

closely resembling that of the Chickasaws. Their 
customs are also similar to those of the latter. 
They were faithful in their friendship to the 
French, though they resolutely maintained their 
independence. 

Of the Natchez, whose settlements were south 
of the Choctaws, and who dwelt in villages, the 
most important of which were situated on the 
banks of the Mississippi, tradition related the most 
singular stories. It was believed they had emi- 
grated from Mexico, and were kindred to the 
Incas of Peru ; and it was likewise said that they 
differed not only in language, but in their policy 
and customs, from the surrounding Indian nations, 
and that they were much farther advanced in 
civilization. This last supposition, however, has 
been shown to be wholly groundless, and that they 
were in no respect superior to their neighbours in 
the rude arts of savage life. Still it is certain 
that their language was entirely different from 
that of the other nations, as were also many of 
their customs. Although by all the Indian tribes 
religious ceremonies are observed, and the belief 
in a future state (everywhere imprinted on the 
heart of man) is universal among them, the Natch- 
ez alone had a consecrated place of worship, 
or temple. It was but a simple hut, to be sure, 
without a window, with a low and narrow open- 



76 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

ing on the side for the only entrance ; but here 
were preserved the most valued fetiches of the 
tribe, some of which were moulded from clay and 
baked in the sun ; here, too, were gathered the 
bones of the dead, and on the surrounding pali- 
sades were suspended their horrid trophies, the 
ecalps taken from their enemies. A perpetual 
fire was kept up by appointed guardians ; and 
when, in one of the awful storms common to those 
regions, the lightning had set fire to the sacred 
edifice, terror-stricken mothers, like the votaries 
of Baal, cast their infants into the flames to ap- 
pease the fury of the unknown power. 

Near the temple, on an artificial mound, stood 
the hut of their chief, called the Great Sun, who 
was supposed to be descended from that lumi- 
nary, and all around were grouped the cabins of 
the tribe. Nowhere was the power of the chief- 
tain so despotic. The dignity was hereditary, 
and transmitted exclusively through the female 
hne ; and the race of nobles was so distinct that 
usage had moulded language into forms of rever- 
ence. In other respects there was among them 
no greater civilization than among the Choc- 
taws ; and, allowmg something for difference of 
climate, their manners differed but little from 
those of the more northern races. 

Amonp;the less considerable tribes, the Pumas 



INDIAN TRIBES. 77 

occupied the territory of Baton Rouge and of 
the two FeUcianas ; between the Amite and the 
Fangipao Uved the tribe of the latter name ; and 
more towards the east were the Colapipas, who 
numbered three hundred warriors. The Baya- 
^oulas extended from the Iberville as far as 
New-Orleans, the site of which was then occu- 
pied by the Chapitoulas; and on the opposite 
bank were the Mongoulachas. On the Terre au 
Bceufs, at the English Turn, was the principal 
seat of the Chonachas, who claimed all the left 
bank of the river. The right belonged to the 
Onachas, whose name is still retained by a lake 
situated north of the Bay of Barrataria. The 
Chetimachas erected their huts on the banks of 
the River La Fourche, which at first bore their 
name. In the territory of the Attakapas lived 
the tribe of that name, which signifies eaters of 
men. At Pointe Coupee were the Tunicas, 
and at the mouth of Red River the Avoyellas. 
Natchitoches was occupied by the tribe of the same 
name; and west of Lake Bistineau were the 
Caddos, or Caddodaquis. The Dulcinos, On- 
chouis, and Yatapis were encamped between the 
Onachita and Red River, and the Onachitas and 
Tensas wandered along the banks of these two 
streams. 



78 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

These diiferent tribes, which had, perhaps, 
been once powerful, were reduced to but a small 
number at the time the country w^as settled by 
the French. Some could muster no more than 
fifty warriors, and the most important scarcely 
five hundred. Neither horses, sheep, poultry, 
nor bees were found among them. The Atta- 
kapas alone possessed a few domestic fowls, 
saved from a shipwrecked vessel. They raised 
a small quantity of maize, sweet potatoes, and 
beans. Instead of tobacco they smoked the 
papona (the leaf of a thorny shrub common in 
Louisiana). Their huts were open ; and, being 
thatched with leaves, were easily set on fire with 
burning arrows. Thus an enemy, surprising one 
of these villages in the night, could suddenly in- 
volve it in one wide conflagration, and, without 
opposition, destroy all its occupants. La Salle 
found on the banks of the Mississippi the ruins 
of an Indian village, its cabins all burned, and 
the wretched inhabitants massacred. They were 
continually at war with each other ; and to this 
is to be ascribed the smallness of their numbers 

The Indian mounds and fortifications, which 
have so long excited curiosity and exercised con- 
jecture, have been supposed to indicate the exist- 
ence of a race of people not only much more 



INDIAN MOUNDS. 79 

ancient, but also much more highly civilized 
than any found by the first discoverers. But a 
careful examination of these remains has proved 
that there was little more skill employed in their 
construction than is possessed by the Indians of 
the present day. Judging from the extent and 
number of their works, they must, however, have 
been a numerous people, whose principal habita- 
tions seem to have been in the central parts of the 
Valley of the Mississippi, in Ohio, Georgia, and 
Florida. Few traces of these ruins are found 
north or east of the great lakes, or east of the 
Alleghany Range. The most remarkable of 
these is a regular fortification in the interior of 
the State of Ohio, consisting of two circular ram- 
parts, connected with a square of the same con- 
struction, the gateways of which are perfectly 
distinct, though now overgrown with trees. At 
Circleville, on Paint Creek, on the east side of 
the Muskingum, and near Cincinnati, there are 
also extensive remains. Nearly opposite to St. 
Louis, also, there are several Indian mounds, 
among which the Big Mound of Cahokia is con- 
sidered the largest yet discovered. The circum- 
ference of its base is stated to be one hundred 
and eighty feet, and its height ninety. Several 
of the smaller mounds have been opened, and 



80 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

found to contain human bones, coarse pottery, 
and rude weapons and ornaments. On one of 
these large mounds a number of refugee monks, 
of the order of La Trappe, found a retreat for 
some years, during the troubles of their native 
land, and left to the eminence the name of 
Monks' Mound. All researches have as yet 
failed in discovering who this lost people could 
have been. 

At first the Indians observed with tranquil cu- 
riosity the adventurers who had come to their 
shores. The idea of contending with them for 
land, of which they knew not the limits or value, 
did not enter their minds. The forests abounded 
with game, furnishing both clothing and food ; 
the rivers with fish; and in all these their new 
guests were at liberty to share. They supposed 
the strangers must have come from some coun- 
try deficient in all such necessaries, and that they 
had braved the dangers of the ocean in quest of 
them. But when they found themselves driven 
from their accustomed hunting-grounds, saw the 
game grow scarce, and found their little planta- 
tions encroached upon, they began to look upon 
the intruder? with an evil eye. Notwithstanding 
the geneitil itindness with which the French treat- 
ed them, among such a motley multitude acts of 



INDIANS JEALOUS OF THE FRENCH. 81 

injustice and tyranny could not but occur ; while 
the natural inclination of the Indians for war, fos- 
tered by their continual quarrels among them- 
selves, joined to their vindictive spirit, disposed 
them bitterly to revenge every aggression of the 
strangers. In vain the more enlightened of the 
French commanders endeavoured to preserve 
peace. In vain the missionaries tried to soften 
the character of the natives by instructing them 
in the useful arts. On the slightest pretence, 
they abandoned their peaceful occupations to 
engage in war with the foreign intruders or with 
each other. 

The Natchez were the first to commence hos- 
tilities. Their chiefs had viewed with jealousy 
the settlement of the French, whose proximity, 
numbers, and courage rendered them formidable 
neighbours. The progress of these wars, which 
were carried on with the most determined perse- 
verance, will be related hereafter. 

The Mongoulachas having destroyed a village 
of the Bayagoulas, the latter revenged them- 
selves by exterminating their enemies to a man. 
Some time after this, the Tensas, being driven 
from their homes by the Yazoos, took refuge 
among the Bayagoulas, and were received by 
them as brothers. But, as a reward for this hos- 



82 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

pitality, they arose in the night and murdered 
their hosts. 

The Tunicas had robbed two Enghsh traders ; 
and the Ahbamons and Chickasaws, who had 
been employed to revenge this act, drove them 
from their camp. They fled to the Oumas for 
protection, and were treated by them with the 
utmost kindness, which they treacherously repaid 
by killing or making prisoners of as many of their 
benefactors as was in their powder ; and the Ou- 
mas W'ho escaped sought refuge on the shores of 
the Bayou St. John. 

The Chickasaws, in a time of profound peace, 
fell suddenly on the Choctaws, carried off a 
great number of them prisoners, and sold them 
for slaves in Carolina. About thirty individuals, 
men, women, and children, belonging to the of- 
fending nation, were encamped around the fort 
of Mobile. To return to their homes they had 
to pass through the country of the Choctaws, 
and, dreading their vengeance, they asked of 
Bienville an escort for their protection, which he 
thought proper to grant. St. Denis, with twen- 
ty Canadians, was employed in this service. As 
they approached the nearest village of the Choc- 
taws, this officer, advancing alone, requested of 
the Indians a free passage through their territo- 



MASSACRE OF THE CHICKaSAW^S, 83 

ry for himself and the people under bis charge. 
This they consented to allow, on the condition 
of being permitted to reproach the Chickasaws 
with the treachery of their nation. The latter, 
with arms in their hands, stood in an open plain, 
and were soon surrounded by the Choctaw 
chiefs, attended by about three hundred war- 
riors. An old sachem, holding the calumet in 
his hand, after giving full scope to his indigna- 
tion, concluded by saying that the French pro- 
tected their enemies only because they were ig- 
norant of the crimes of which they had been 
guilty, and that the Chickasaws then present de- 
served death, as a just retribution for the treach- 
ery of their tribe. He then threw down the cal- 
umet, the Choctaws drew their bows, and most 
of the Chickasaw warriors fell dead. The sur- 
vivers made a vain attempt at resistance, but 
none except the women and children were 
spared. St. Denis received a wound as he was 
endeavouring to restore peace. A large body 
of the Choctaws conducted the French in safety 
to Mobile, to express their regret at this unfortu- 
nate occurrence. 

These instances show the vindictive spirit of 
the Indians, and the persevering, though gener- 
ally unavailing, efforts of the French to preserve 
harmony among them. 



84 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

At last, however, the French succeeded in ac- 
comphshing their object : they effected a peace 
among the tribes of the Valley of the Mississippi, 
which lasted for twelve years. It was then in- 
terrupted by the English ; and after the conquest 
of Canada by the latter, there was no possibility 
of restoring it. These two European nations 
were guided by very different principles. The 
English colonists sought to possess themselves of 
the land ; the French were principally anxious 
to secure the fur-trade. This alone will account 
for the prosperity of the former, and the ruin of 
the latter. The French desired to promote peace ; 
the English, continual wars, which should involve 
the destruction of the Indians. With their views, 
the French frequently intermarried among the 
Indians : a connexion always repugnant to the 
other nation. There is but a single marriage of 
this kind recorded of the English colonists, that 
of Rolfe with Pocahontas. In the early periods 
of their settlements, the English paid but little 
attention to religion or morality in their inter- 
course with the Indians ; while the French mis- 
sionaries, prompted by religious zeal, were inde- 
fatigable in their efforts to win them to their 
faith. But, although the English might better 
have imitated the kindness, good temper, and 



HOSTILITY OF CHICKASAWS AND NATCHEZ. 85 

social qualities of their rivals, it may be thought 
that these qualities were often carried by the lat- 
ter too far ; and that the French traders, instead 
of raising the Indian character, often sunk to its 
level themselves. 



CHAPTER VII. 

War of the Natchez. 

1729. — The Chickasaws and Natchez had for 
some time watched the French with a jealous 
eye, when the erection of Fort Rosalie greatly 
inflamed their hostile feelings. They manifested 
so much dissatisfaction on the occasion, that Pe- 
rier, the successor of Bienville in the government 
of Louisiana, deemed it expedient to solicit as- 
sistance from the Western Company. This, how- 
ever, was refused, and the situation of the colony 
became daily more critical, the two tribes already 
mentioned having succeeded in drawing all the 
neighbouring nations into a confederacy against 
the French, with the exception of the Illinois, the 
Arkansas, and the Tensas, whose fidelity remain- 
ed unshaken. At a concerted signal, they were 



86 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

to make a general attack, and massacre all the 
colonists. But the French having prevailed in 
detaching the Choctaws from the league, the 
Chickasaws concluded to defer the attack to 
a more favourable opportunity. The Natchez, 
however, having, in the course of this year, been 
treated with the greatest injustice by the com- 
mandant of Fort Rosalie, the smothered flame 
burst forth, and threatened not only the safety of 
the fort, but the existence of the whole colony. 

This commandant, Avhose name was Chepar, 
wishing to form an extensive agricultural estab- 
lishment, could not find any place so suitable for 
the purpose as the village of La Pomme, belong- 
ing to the Natchez. Instead of endeavouring to 
get possession of it by negotiation, he sent for the 
chief of the place, and ordered him immediately to 
evacuate it. In vain did the Indian seek to divert 
him from his purpose. " When," said he, " you 
and your brothers came here to ask us for land, 
w^e did not refuse it ; there was enough for you 
and for us : we might have hunted in the same 
forests, and been buried in the same place. Why 
will you drive us from the cabins w^here we have 
received you with kindness, and smoked with 
you the calumet of peace ?" 

But this simple and affecting expostulation 



INDIANS CONSPIRE AGAINST THE FRENCH. 87 

was of no avail. The inexorable commandant 
persisted in his brutal purpose. All that could 
be obtained from him was permission for the 
Indians to remain until after their harvest had 
been gathered in ; and even for this small indul- 
gence he demanded a tribute of corn. The 
Natchez vowed a payment of blood. They as- 
sembled their chiefs, and resolved on the destruc- 
tion of the French ; and, not satisfied with the 
death of the offenders, they determined to exter- 
minate the whole race of strangers. The neigh- 
bouring chiefs all entered into the combination: 
a bundle of reeds was sent to each ; and, begin- 
ning from the next new moon, one was daily to 
be withdrawn from the heap, and the last to be 
the signal for the attack. 

The conspiracy was disconcerted by the wife 
of a chief. Whether moved by pity or love is 
not known; but she determined to save the 
French, and for that purpose managed to sub- 
tract a few reeds from several of the bundles. 
Some rumours of the intended plot reached the 
ears of the French, and the commandant was se- 
cretly informed of it. But the infatuated man 
refused to believe he had any reason to fear the 
vengeance of those whom his barbarity had so 
justly enraged: he accused the officers who 



88 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

brought him the intelligence of cowardice, and 
even ordered some of them to be arrested. 

On the 28th of November the Indians pre- 
sented themselves before the fortress, each bearing 
a portion of the tribute of corn. They were al- 
lowed to enter without the least precaution. 
Some crowded to the residence of the command- 
ant, others to the dwelhngs of the officers, while 
the rest surrounded the fort. The signal was 
given, the tomahawk raised, and the massacre 
began. The soldiers, surprised and thrown into 
confusion, were easily slaughtered. All the men 
in the fort were put to death, except a carpenter, 
a tailor, and a few negroes, who, with the 
women, eighty in number, were carried away 
captive; also one hundred and fifty children, 
though many of the infants w^ere killed because 
their cries disturbed the victors. The negroes 
submitted without the least resistance ; most of 
them, indeed, having been drawn into the con- 
spiracy under a promise of liberty, and that they 
should be given the wives of their masters. Che- 
par met the fate his tyranny deserved, being 
consigned to an ignominious death at the hands 
of the squaws. 

A similar scene of carnage was at the same 
time enacted among the Yazoos, where a French 



MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH. 89 

fort was likewise surprised, and its occupants all 
put to death. The destruction, indeed, would 
have had a much wider range, had not the strat- 
agem of the Indian woman hastened the time of 
the rising. Several tribes, finding themselves left 
out, and supposing they were betrayed, remain- 
ed inactive, in the belief that the French were on 
their guard. Meanwhile, at New-Orleans a con- 
spiracy was discovered among the blacks, which 
in all probability was connected with the rising 
of the Natchez. 

The news of this dreadful tragedy filled the 
population of New-Orleans with horror and rage. 
Below the town, near the English Turn, there was 
a village of the Chonchas; and they being sus- 
pected of having an understanding with the 
Natchez, the negroes were commanded to put 
them all to death, which they did with every re- 
finement of cruelty. 

1730. — Perier determined to avenge the mas- 
sacre at Rosalie, but his own forces were insuf- 
ficient to allow of his attempting it alone. He 
determined, therefore, to accept the alliance of 
the Choctaws, though he could not but consider 
the sincerity of their professions as extremely 
doubtful, notwithstanding that they gave him the 
strongest assurances of their good faith. They 



90 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

had been a party to the conspiracy ; but, consid- 
ering themselves deceived, by the Natchez, who 
had not waited for them to commence hostihties, 
and had retained to themselves all the spoils of 
their victory, they vowed revenge against them, 
and used their utmost efforts to persuade the 
French that their alliance with their enemies had 
been merely a feint, and that they had kept it 
secret only that they might the more effectually 
throw them into their power. 

The Natchez, after destroying Fort Rosalie, 
had with its materials constructed a new fort in 
another situation. Twelve hundred Choctaws, 
commanded by Lejeuer, advanced against it. 
They attacked the enemy so vigorously that they 
killed eighty of their warriors, losing themselves 
only two men j recovered fifty of the women and 
children, the two mechanics, and a hundred and 
six negroes. The Natchez would have been 
completely destroyed at this first onset if the 
Choctaws had waited for the arrival of a corps 
of Louisianians, who were advancing under the 
orders of Loubois. 

This corps, consisting of twelve hundred men, 
and comprising all the disposable force of the 
colony, w^as encumbered with cannon, which 
were entirely useless, as there were none of them 



DEFEAT OF THE NATCHEZ. 91 

who knew how to manage them. Five hundred 
Chetimachas, Oumas,and Tunicas followed them. 
They found the Natchez intrenched in a strong 
position, where they vigorously defended them- 
selves for several days against the fiercest at- 
tacks. At length, however, they offered to ca- 
pitulate, promising to restore all their prisoners, 
but threatening to put them to death if their pro- 
posals were rejected. To avoid this catastrophe, 
Loubois consented ; but, as soon as he had the 
women, the children, and the negroes in his pos- 
session, he erected a fort near theirs to overawe 
them. But the Natchez, taking advantage of a 
dark night, suddenly decamped ; part of them 
took refuge with the Chickasaws, and the rest, 
crossing the river, escaped into the depths of the 
forest. 

Scarcely had the colony recovered its tranquil- 
lity, when information was received that the 
Chickasaws were again plotting against them, 
and that the Natchez had become more audacious 
than ever, as though the chastisement they had 
received had been just sufficient to irritate them. 
In this emergency, Perier thought it advisable 
to renew his alliance with the Choctaws, whose 
intentions were the more doubtful, as the English 
were then tampering with them. But it was ne- 



92 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

cessary to court the friendship of these savages, 
notwithstanding they were the most insolent, and 
the most troublesome and disgusting of all the 
Indian tribes. Fortunately, at this moment three 
companies of marines arrived from France, with 
which addition to their strength they were ena- 
bled to continue the war. It was first necessary 
to chastise the negroes who had been employed 
to destroy the Chonachas, and who had now 
turned their arms against their masters : they 
were speedily subdued, their ringleaders hung, 
and the others severely flogged. 

1731. — The Natchez having retired to a spot 
near the Black River, and concealed themselves 
in the woods, Perier ascended the Mississippi in 
mid-winter in search of them. He w^ould not, 
probably, have succeeded in discovering their re- 
treat, had they not spied an Indian boy fishing, 
and by his flight been directed to the path 
which led to their camp. The post they occu- 
pied they had in some measure fortified, and 
seemed disposed to defend it ; but a bomb fall- 
ing among the women and children so terrified 
them that they made signs of submission. Pe- 
rier required that the chiefs should come to his 
camp, to which they finally yielded, though un- 
willingly, and not until after many efforts to 



DESTRUCTION OF THE NATCHEZ. 93 

avoid it. While they were there they feigned 
to be asleep, and one of them, eluding the vigi- 
lance of the guards and making his escape, 
returned to his people, and assured them they 
had nothing to hope from the mercy of the 
French. When Perier the next day called 
upon them to submit, they delayed their answer 
till evening, and then, telling him they did not 
fear him, braved his threats. This defiance, 
however, was but a pretence, as they hoped to 
escape during the night in the manner they had 
done before ; this repetition of a stratagem which 
has once been successful being a common trait 
in the Indian character. But this time they 
found themselves mistaken, for they were closely 
watched, and, being completely surrounded, many 
of them were killed ; a few only effected their 
escape, favoured by the darkness, and the re- 
mainder were forced to surrender. The prison- 
ers were carried as slaves to New-Orleans, and 
from thence sent to St. Domingo and sold, all 
except the Indian woman who had practised the 
stratagem against her countrymen to save the 
French; she, with her son, was exempted from 
the general doom, though both of them died soon 
after. 

The Natchez who had escaped hearing of the 



94 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

fate of their brethren, became desperate : they 
fell upon the Tunicas, who continued faithful to 
the French, and, having made a great slaughter 
of them during a furious contest of five days, 
they at length retired. They then attacked the 
Natchitoches, and finally ventured to attack the 
French in their fort ; but these having been re- 
enforced, made a sally, and killed a considerable 
number, among whom were the Great Sun and 
most of the chiefs. This loss was irreparable : 
the few surviving Natchez could no longer form 
a nation, and most of them took refuge among 
the Chickasaws, the first instigators of the war. 
These adopted them into their nation, according 
to the custom of the Indians ; the rest dispersed 
themselves among the other tribes; and this once- 
powerful people, as a distinct race, was entirely 
lost. Their name alone, attached to one of our 
flourishing cities, remains to perpetuate their 
memory. 



FLOURISHING STATE OF THE COLONY. 95 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Surrendei of the Charter of the Mississippi Company. — War ol 
the Chickasaws.— Interior affairs. 

1732. — At this period, the Mississippi Compa- 
ny, having sustained great losses, and seeing lit- 
tle reason to anticipate greater success for the 
future, determined to abandon a hopeless enter- 
prise, and relinquish to the king the charter he 
had granted them. They had held possession of 
Louisiana for fourteen years, and left it with a 
population of five thousand whites, and two 
thousand five hundred blacks. Many public 
buildings had been erected in Nev/-Orleans, and 
m different places forts had been constructed for 
the defence of the colonists against the Indians. 
Agriculture was in an improving condition 
through all the nine cantons, and particularly 
in Illinois, which was considered the granary of 
the colony. The alluvial land on the banks of 
the rivers was extremely fertile, and well adapt- 
ed to grain, especially maize, which was so gen- 
erally cultivated by the Indians at the time the 
country was discovered that it was supposed to 
H 



96 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

be indigenous to the soil. But never having 
been found by botanists in a wild state, it has 
been concluded that it must have come from some 
other region; and recent researches have indu- 
ced the belief that it is a native plant of South 
America. Many of the northern fruits were to 
be found here ; and with so great a variety of 
soil and climate as was embraced within the ex- 
tensive tract then called Louisiana, the settlers 
possessed facilities for raising almost any Euro- 
pean production. 

To encourage agriculture and increase the 
population of the colony, an ordinance of the 
king, dated in this year, granted to every soldier, 
on retiring from the service, a certain quantity of 
land, in fee simple, to be cultivated by him, and 
continuing at the same time his pay and rations 
for three years. Good behaviour in the army 
was sure of being thus rewarded; and in this 
manner obedient soldiers were secured to the 
state, to become respectable planters after their 
term of service w^as expired. 

1734. — The Chickasaws were at this time as- 
suming a hostile attitude. They had afforded 
an asylum to the Yazoos, to a body of the 
Natchez, and to a number of refugee negroes 
from the colony of Rosalie. They did more : 



OPERATIONS AGAINST THE CHICKASAWS. 97 

they sent some of these negroes to the banks of 
the river, some to New-Orleans, and others to 
Mobile, to excite the slaves on the plantations to 
revolt. Their plot, however, was discovered in 
time : some of the negroes were put to the rack, 
and one negro woman was hung. The plans of 
the Chickasaws did not stop here. They sought 
to withdraw the Eastern Choctaws from their alli- 
ance with the French; while, with the aid of 
the Cherokees, they intercepted all communica- 
tion between Canada and Louisiana, and com- 
mitted numerous acts of violence. 

1735. — Bienville, the founder of New-Or- 
leans, had returned, and was again governor. 
He felt the necessity of reducing the Indians to 
submission, but at the same time wished to con- 
ciliate them if it were possible. All his efforts 
to effect this, however, failed ; they still contin- 
ued their depredations; and he found himself 
obliged to commence hostile operations against 
them. He sent orders to the Chevalier D'Arta- 
grette, who commanded, at Fort Chartres, on the 
Illinois, to join him with all his forces. This 
young officer, son of the former commissary of 
that name, rapidly descended the Mississippi 
with a body of twelve hundred men, nearly all 
Indians, and came in sight of the enemy before 



98 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Bienville arrived. He had already distinguished 
himself in the war with the Natchez ; and now, 
with about fifty French and a thousand Indians, 
he advanced into the country of the Chickasaws, 
who w^ere intrenched behind fortifications, and 
commanded by English officers. Though the 
Illinois were impatient for the combat, as he was 
anxious to wait for Bienville's co-operation, he 
endeavoured to restrain their ardour j but, at the 
expiration of ten days, they threatened desertion, 
and he w^as obliged to give battle. He captured 
two of the forts, and was about gaining posses- 
sion of the third, when he received several 
wounds, and was taken prisoner by the enemy, 
together with Father Senac, De Vincennes, and 
a few gallant spirits who refused to abandon 
their leader. Upon this the Illinois precipitate- 
ly fled. At this crisis Bienville arrived, but it 
was now too late. He attacked a fort defended 
by a body of English, and lost nearly two thou- 
sand men. Being unable to remove his dead, 
the Indians cut them in pieces and nailed them 
to the palisades. The wounded were carried off 
in the arms of such of their companions as could 
bear the fatigue, and were protected by Voisin, 
a youth only sixteen years old, who conducted 
the retreat w^ith admirable presence of mind, 



MASSACRE OF FRENCH CAPTIVES. 99 

marching more than a hundred miles without 
food, and having the enemy in hot pursuit near- 
ly half the way. D'Artagrette and his compan- 
ions were taken to th.e cabins of the Chicka- 
saws, where, according to the Indian custom, 
their wounds were bound up, and they were 
well fed, and treated with seeming kindness. 
But after Bienville and his army were gone, 
they were brought out, bound to a stake, and 
doomed to perish by a slow fire, having first en- 
dured all the tortures which Indian cruelty could 
invent ; one only of their number being spared, 
to acquaint their countrymen with their fate. 

1739. — Another campaign against the Chick- 
asaws was determined on by Bienville ; and his 
plan was to attack them by the Mississippi, with 
all the forces of Canada and Louisiana com- 
bined. Beauharnais, governor of New-France, 
entering into his views, sent to him Celeron, 
with the cadets of Quebec and Montreal, and a 
strong body of Canadian Indians. On arriving 
with his troops at the point where the town of 
Memphis, in Tennessee, now stands, Bienville 
was joined by the Canadian force, and that sent 
from Fort Chartres, on the Illinois, commanded 
by Lobuissonneire. These united detachments 
formed a body of three thousand six hiindred 

LOFC. 



100 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

men, twelve hundred of whom were Europeans. 
They constructed a fort, to which they gave the 
name of L'Assomption. It was in the month of 
August ; the heat was excessive ; the situation 
unhealthy ; and, to add to their difficulties, their 
provisions failed, so that they were obliged to 
eat their horses. Diseases broke out among the 
troops, and particularly those recently arrived 
from France, and carried off great numbers of 
them ; while those who escaped with life, being 
w^eakened by hunger and suffering, were disa- 
bled from taking any part in the war. 

1740.— An attack on the enemy was, howev- 
er, decided on, and it was led by the savages and 
the Canadian French. At the approach of an 
army which appeared to them innumerable, the 
Chickasaws were struck wdth dismay. They ac- 
cordingly sued for peace, declaring that they had 
been seduced into hostilities by the English of 
Carolina, but that they desired nothing so ear- 
nestly as to live on good terms with the French. 
To appease their dreaded enemies, they gave up 
two Englishmen who were with them. Bien- 
ville suffered himself to be appeased by these 
manifestations of friendship : they smoked the 
calumet together, and buried the tomahawk. 
Peace w^as said to be established; but it was 



DEPARTURE OF BIENVILLE FOR FRANCE. 101 

only a nominal peace; for the settlements be- 
tween Illinois and Lower Louisiana were kept in 
constant alarm. The Chickasaws, in fact, re- 
mained masters of the country; and, aided by 
the Enghsh, they kept the French out of their 
territory, and continued to harass them for sever- 
al years. 

1741. — ^Bienville now took his final departure 
from Louisiana, to the great regret of the inhab- 
itants, and was succeeded by Vaudreuil in the 
command of the colony. Commerce was at this 
time in a flourishing condition, having been freed 
from the monopoly granted to the Western Com- 
pany, which had greatly impeded its advance. 
In 1731 the king also relieved it from all duties; 
and when the country came again under the 
royal administration, no change was made in the 
government. 

Legal questions had at this time become so 
complicated that it was found necessary to in- 
crease the number of members in the superior 
council. Four assessors, chosen for four years, 
were entitled to a seat in this body, but they 
were only allowed to vote when there was an 
equal division among the regular members. 

1742. — Six years previous to this, owing to 
the great scarcity of specie, there had been an 



102 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

emission of paper to the amount of two hundred 
thousand livres (a little more than forty thousand 
dollars), to meet the necessities of the colony. 
These bills were in sums of five, ten, fifteen, and 
twenty livres; and there were smaller ones of 
fifty, twenty-five, twelve and a half, and six and 
a quarter sous. The effect of this paper money 
was to cause the gold and silver to disappear, 
and in a short time it greatly depreciated. In- 
stead of applying the proper remedy to the 
evil, another description of paper money was 
put in circulation, to be employed in commerce ; 
and this was followed, in 1743, by an issue of 
treasury notes, receivable for all fiscal demands. 
This profusion of public securities gave rise to 
the practice of stock-jobbing, greatly to the inju- 
ry both of the commercial and agricultural in- 
terests. 

The War of the Succession, which had set 
Europe in flames, soon extended to America. 
The English colonists were at this time di- 
recting all their energies against Canada; and 
Georgia and both the Carolinas being engaged 
in this Northern war, no longer sought to excite 
the Indians against Louisiana, the only part of 
the French colonies which now enjoyed perfect 
tranquillity. But enemies of a different kind 



LEGAL DIFFICULTIES. 103 

were let loose upon her. In 1746 a terrible 
hurricane desolated the country, and entirely de- 
stroyed the rice-crop. This grain had, for a 
long time, been substituted in the colony for 
bread. The foreign bread-stuffs destined for its 
use in this emergency having been taken by the 
English, the only resource left was to send to 
the country of the Illinois, then in a very flour- 
ishing condition, for a supply. This country 
produced everything in abundance : grain, cat- 
tle, venison, tallow, beans, oil, wool, skins, leath- 
er, and lead. In the course of the year there 
were received from thence more than four thou- 
sand bags of flour. 

1748. — In this year the excessive severity of 
the winter destroyed, for the first time, all the 
orange-trees. The people had long suffered se- 
rious inconvenience from the want of duly quali- 
fied persons in the civil offices. Wills, sales, or 
deeds, made in good faith, might all be annulled, 
from not being executed with due formality; 
and thus many families were compelled to apply 
to the government to have their titles legalized, 
and were exposed to be ruined by law^suits. An 
order of the superior council declared that all 
papers preserved in the public offices should be 
considered vahd, provided there was no evidence 



104 HISTORY OF lOUISIANA. 

of any fraud in the transactions to which they 
related; and decreed that in future^ v/herever 
there were no offices of justice, two responsible 
inhabitants should be authorized to draw up the 
necessary writings, to be attested by two witness- 
es, requiring only, to render them valid, that 
they should be transmitted, within the space of 
a year, to the superior council of the colony, or 
to the inferior courts of Mobile or Illinois. 

1751. — The most valuable gift ever conferred 
on Louisiana was received from the Jesuits of 
St. Domingo, who sent to iheir brethren on the 
Mississippi sugar-canes, with negroes accustomed 
to their culture and management. These canes 
were planted on the lands belonging to the Jes- 
uits, comprising the lower part of the Faubourg 
St. Marie. In this year sixty poor girls arrived 
from France, who were given in marriage to the 
soldiers whose good conduct had obtained, for 
them an award of land, as we have before related. 

1752. — The Chickasaws, after a peace of 
twelve years, again commenced their depreda- 
tions, and with greater boldness than ever, upon 
the French settlements. To revenge and put 
a stop to these repeated outrages, Vaudreuil 
marched against them with a force of seven 
hundred troops of the line and a large body of 



FIRST LITERARY PRODUCTION. 105 

savages. The expedition, however, in a great 
measure failed. The Indians had by this time 
learned something of fortification, and the French 
were unable to take their strongholds for Avant 
of artillery. They contented themselves, there- 
fore, W'ith laying waste their country, and 
strengthening the fort of Tombeckbee, the gar- 
rison of which they doubled. 

1753. — A circumstance this year occurred, 
which gave rise to the first literary production 
of Louisiana. A Choctaw having killed an In- 
dian of another tribe, fled for refuge to New- 
Orleans. The relations of the deceased pursued 
him, and demanded his surrender of the governor, 
who felt himself bound to order his arrest, though 
he had then escaped beyond pursuit. His father 
came forward, and oflfered his own life to ensure 
the safety of his son. The family consented to 
the compromise, and the old Indian endured 
tortures and death without a groan. A tragedy 
was written on this subject by Leblanc de Ville- 
neuve, one of the ofl[icers of the garrison. 



106 HISTORY OF LCUISIANA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Differences between France ar.d England. — General Washing 
ton. — Nova Scotia. — Fort Duquesne. — Loss of Canada.— Sup- 
pression of the Order of Jesuits. 

The power of France was at this time ex- 
tended over a great part of North America. It 
is true she had, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
ceded Acadie, now called Nova Scotia, to Eng- 
land. But her title to Canada was undisputed, 
and she still held possession of the Valley of the 
Mississippi, along the whole extent of which 
there were detached French settlements. To 
protect these valuable possessions, a plan worthy 
of its object had been formed and partly exe- 
cuted. This was, to connect Quebec with the 
Gulf of Mexico by a continued line of fortified 
posts. The governors of New-France (under 
W'hich name were comprehended the whole of 
Canada and Louisiana) had been for the most 
part military men, who had selected the sites for 
these posts with great judgment, and in situations 
the most favourable for the defence of their own 
people, and to overawe the Indians. The native 



THE FIVE NATIONS. 107 

tribes were generally friendly to the French, if 
we except the Iroquois, or, as they were called 
by the Enghsh, the Five Nations; viz., the Mo- 
hawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Sen- 
ecas, inhabiting the borders of the rivers and 
lakes bearing these names : they were sometimes 
called the Six Nations, the Tuscaroras having 
been admitted into the confederacy. They were 
a brave and warlike people, attached to the 
English, with whom they afterward took part in 
the American war. The French found them 
troublesome neighbours, as they not unfrequently 
extended their incursions to the St. Lawrence, 
and even as far as the Valley of the Mississippi. 
A strong fort at Crown Point, on Lake Cham- 
plain, commanded part of the country they occu- 
pied, and others were erected in suitable situa- 
tions, extending from Quebec up the St. Lawrence 
River, and along the Great Lakes. It is obvious 
that the completion of this Yme of fortified sta- 
tions would have completely hemmed in the 
English settlements, and that, as it has been 
expressed, Canada and Louisiana would have 
formed a bow, of which the colonies of England 
would have represented the cord. 

It was not to be supposed that the English 
could regard these proceedings of their rivals 



i08 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

without alarm, or that they could see them mo- 
nopolizing the vast and fertile country of Upper 
Louisiana without desiring to share its advanta- 
ges, especially as they considered themselves 
possessing an equal claim to them. In conse- 
quence of the discovery of the Cabots, they 
asserted the right of extending their settlements 
as far as the Pacific. The French, on the other 
hand, maintained their claim to the Valley of the 
Mississippi, on the ground of having been the 
first to explore and colonize it, and insisted that 
the English should confine themselves to the 
country east of the Alleghany Mountains. Amid 
these conflicting pretensions, neither party seems 
to have imagined that there might be prior 
rights, w^hich equally barred the claims of both. 
An Indian chief remarked on the occasion of 
this dispute, " The French claim all the country 
to the w^est, and the English all to the east and 
west; where, then, is the country of the Indians ?" 
This was an embarrassing question, and has never 
yet been satisfactorily answered. 

At this time, however, the Indians did not seem 
to think of asserting their own rights, but took 
part in the quarrels of the two nations, which were 
both equally regardless of them : a very fortunate 
circumstance for the French, as Canada then con- 



THE OHIO COMPANY. 109 

tained only 45,000 inhabitants, and the whole of 
Louisiana no more than 7000 whites, while the 
English colonies had a population of 1,051,000. 
The rival nations now only waited an occasion 
of commencing the contest; and it soon arrived. 
Shortly after the conclusion of the last war, sever- 
al individuals in Virginia and England associa- 
ted together under the name of the Ohio Com- 
pany, and obtained a grant from the crown of 
six hundred thousand acres of land, lying in 
the country claimed by either nation. The ob- 
jects of this company being commercial as well 
as territorial, measures were taken for securino- 
all the advantages which could be derived from 
their charter, by establishing trading-houses and 
employing persons to survey the country. 

The governor of Canada, on receiving infor- 
mation of what he considered an encroachment 
on the French dominions, wrote to the governors 
of New-York and Pennsylvania, stating that the 
English traders had trespassed upon the French 
territory, and that, if they were not made to de- 
sist, he should be under the necessity of seizing 
them. Finding his threats disregarded, he pro- 
ceeded to put them in execution ; and, arresting 
the company's servants, had them conveyed as 
prisoners to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, where he 



110 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

was engaged in erecting a strong fort About 
the same time a communication was opened from 
Presque Isle, along French Creek and the Alle- 
ghany River, to the Ohio, called by the French 
La Belle Riviere. This communication was kept 
up by detachments of troops posted at proper 
distances, in works capable of protecting them 
against an attack made with small arms alone. 
''This military line passing through the territory 
granted to the Ohio Company as a part of Vir- 
ginia, the lieutenant governor of that province 
laid the matter before the Assembly, and de- 
spatched Washington, then a young officer only 
twenty-one years old, with a letter to Monsieur 
de St. Pierre, commander of the French forces on 
the Ohio, requiring him to withdraw from the 
dominions of his Britannic majesty. M. de St. 
Pierre replied with politeness, but in decided 
terms, that he had taken possession of the coun- 
try by order of his superior officer, Governor 
Duquesne, to whom he would transmit the letter, 
but the summons to retire he could not comply 

with. 

1754. ^Preparations were immediately made 

in Virginia to assert the rights of the British 
crown, and a regiment was sent to the defence 
of the frontier. Advancing with a small de- 



WASHINGTON ENCOUNTERS JUMONVILLE. Ill 

tachment, Washington fell in with a party of 
French and Indians, who approached with every 
appearance of hostile intentions. A skirmish 
ensued, in which the commander of the party, 
M. de Jumonville, and ten of his men, were killed. 
The affair was at the time greatly misrepresented, 
and Washington was blamed for having com- 
mitted an act of aggression before war had been 
declared, and for attacking, as it was said, the 
bearer of a summons. It is true that Jumon- 
ville had a summons in his possession, but that 
fact could not have been known to Washington ; 
nor had he any reason to suppose, from the con- 
duct of this officer, that his intentions were of a 
friendly nature. He was at the head of an 
armed force, sent forward spies in advance, con- 
cealed himself and his party, and despatched 
information of the state of things to his com- 
mander in the fort. Had Washington disregarded 
these indications, he would have been justly cen- 
surable for neglect of duty; and the unhappy 
consequences of proceedings so unusual may be 
charged to the indiscretion of Jumonville him- 
self The French subsequently acquitted Wash- 
mgton of any blame in this unfortunate affair. 

The object of the American officer had been 
to anticipate the French in occupying the post 



112 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

at the junction of the Alleghany and Mononga- 
hela, where a party of militia and a body of 
workmen had been sent by the Ohio Company ; 
but finding they had already driven the latter 
away, and erected a strong fort on the spot, and 
foreseeing that, on hearing of the affair of Jumon- 
ville, they would at once send a detachment 
against him, he hastily completed a small stock- 
ade he had commenced at a place called Great 
Meadows, and gave to it the name of Fort 
Necessity. Here he was soon attacked, and, 
after a gallant defence, capitulated on honour- 
able terms. 

1755. — This action being considered by the 
British government as the commencement of 
hostilities by the French, troops were immedi- 
ately sent from England, under the command of 
General Braddock, and three different expedi- 
tions were planned : the first against Fort Du- 
quesne, the second against Niagara and Fort 
Frontenac, and the third against Crown Point 
and Ticonderoga ; but before the preparations 
for these enterprises could be completed, another, 
previously concerted, was carried into execution 
against the French on the borders of Nova Scotia. 

After the cession of this province to the Eng- 
lish, its limits continued to be unsettled, the com- 



NOVA SCOTIA SUBDUED BY THE ENGLISH. 113 

missioners appointed to determine them not hav- 
ing been able to come to any agreement, in con- 
sequence of which the French proceeded to 
erect forts on the territory in dispute, and placed 
garrisons in them. The expedition to which we 
have alluded consisted of more than three thou- 
sand men, and its operations were first directed 
against Beau Sejour, the principal post held by 
the French in that country. At the river Mus- 
saquach, which the French considered as their 
western boundary, some slight works had been 
thrown up, with the intention of disputing its 
passage. After a short resistance, however, 
they gave w^ay, and the river was passed. Beau 
Sejour capitulated, and the English acquired 
complete possession of Nova Scotia. 

This country having been originally settled by 
France, its inhabitants were chiefly of that na- 
tion. It had been stipulated in favour of the 
colonists, that they should be permitted to retain 
possession of their lands on condition of taking 
the oath of allegiance to their new sovereign. 
This, however, they refused to do, unless they 
were permitted to qualify it with a proviso, that 
they should not be required to bear arms in de- 
fence of the country. The commanding officer 
of the British forces agreed to this ; and, though 



114 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA 

it was afterward disallowed by the crown, the 
inhabitants still continued to consider themselves 
neutral : they did not all, however, practically 
observe neutrality, for three hundred of them 
were captured with the garrison of Beau Sejour. 
The English were now perplexed how to se- 
cure their conquest. To leave the French inhab- 
itants there would, they feared, compromise the 
safety of the country in the approaching con- 
test ; while to banish them with the liberty of 
choosing their future residence, might be the 
means of adding to the strength of the enemy 
in Canada. They adopted, therefore, the cruel 
resolution to remove them from their homes, and 
disperse them through the other British colonies ; 
adding to this severity the injustice of depriving 
them of their property, which, with the excep- 
tion of their money and household furniture, was 
declared forfeited to the crown. To prevent 
their return, they burned their dwellings and laid 
waste their lands, reducing the entire population 
to a state of want and wretchedness in conse- 
quence of the misconduct of a few% 

Thus driven from their homes and scattered 
about in strange lands, the unhappy sufferers 
turned their thoughts to Louisiana, where they 
might, at least, hve among their own' country- 



DEFEAT OF BRADDOCK. 115 

men ; and, after encountering much fatigue and 
danger, the greater part of them finally succeed- 
ed in getting there. Kerlerec, the governor of 
the colony, assigned to them large tracts on the 
Mississippi, furnished them with implements of 
agriculture, and allowed each individual, for the 
first year, the pay and rations of a soldier. 

Meanwhile the expedition commanded by 
Braddock proceeded against Fort Duquesne. He 
was a brave soldier, but haughty and obstinate, 
and held both the Provincials, as they were call- 
ed, and the Indians in too much contempt to listen 
to the counsels of the one, or to have any fear of 
the other. The consequence was, that, spurning 
all advice, he persisted in advancing according 
to European tactics, until he found himself at- 
tacked to the greatest disadvantage by the ene- 
my, so that in a short time a great number of his 
soldiers, and all his principal officers, with the ex- 
ception of Washington, who acted as his aid, 
were killed, and he himself, after having had 
three horses shot under him, received a mortal 
wound. The defeat was complete, and his army 
entirely routed. 

The northern expeditions were not more suc- 
cessful; so that it was deemed prudent to abandon 
the enterprises against Forts Frontenac and Niag- 



116 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

ara. The other against Ticonderoga, conducted 
by General Johnson, fell in with a body of 
French commanded by Baron Dieskau, who was 
taken prisoner after a severe engagement, though 
the French still remained masters of the fort. 

1756. — Montcalm, who succeeded Dieskau, 
took and destroyed the fort at Oswego, and cap- 
tured several vessels on Lake Ontario. The fol- 
lowing year he laid siege to Fort William Henry, 
which surrendered in six days. But the success 
which had attended the French arms was now 
destined to receive a check. A change of ad- 
ministration in England brought WilHam Pitt 
into power, and he immediately took vigorous 
measures for the prosecution of the war. The 
naval force was actively engaged in intercepting 
the supplies sent from France; and so great a 
aumber of additional troops were sent from Eng- 
land, that, with the Provincials, they formed an 
army of fifty thousand men. Louisburg soon 
fell into their power; Fort Frontenac was also 
taken ; and these advantages were followed by 
others still more important. 

1758. — General Forbes, supported by Wash- 
ington, advanced to the attack of Fort Duquesne. 
The Indians, who had hitherto remained faithful 
to the French, deserted them an the approach of 



CAPTURE OF QUEBEC. 117 

the enemy, and the garrison, too feeble to defend 
the post against so formidable a force, set fire to 
it the evening before the British arrived, and, 
escaping down the Ohio in boats, made their 
way to New-Orleans. The English rebuilt and 
garrisoned the fort, giving to it the name of Pitt, 
in honour of the minister who had enabled them 
to gain it. It has since, under the name of Pitts- 
burg, attained a more peaceful celebrity. The 
possession of this important place proved a death- 
blow to the power of the French, throwing all 
that vast country into the hands of the English, 
and removing all apprehensions of the Indians, 
most of whom willingly went over to the victors. 
1759. — The English could now concentrate all 
their forces against Canada. Cape Breton was 
already in their possession, and in the spring of 
1759, Wolfe, with eight thousand men and a for- 
midable train of artillery, arrived before Quebec. 
The gallant Montcalm was intrusted with its de- 
fence. The city was taken, but dearly purchased 
by the loss of Wolfe, who was mortally wound- 
ed, and expired just as his army raised the shout 
of victory. The less fortunate Montcalm was 
also slain, and welcomed a death that saved him 
from seeing the surrender of Quebec. In Sep- 
tember of the following year the English had 



118 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

assembled a force before Montreal too formida- 
ble to be resisted ; the governor capitulated ; and 
all the other fortified posts in Canada were given 
up, on the condition that the garrisons should be 
sent to France, and the rehgion and property of 
the Canadians respected. 

Thus was overthrown that colossal power 
which France, at such cost and labour, had been 
so long rearing. The chief causes of this event 
may be found in the superior population and re- 
sources of the colonies of England, and in her 
immense naval strength : an advantage in distant 
war not to be counterbalanced by scarcely any 
combination of numbers, discipline, courage, and 
military talents, on the part of an inferior mari- 
time power. 

Louisiana alone remained to France; and, 
though divided and dismembered, still possessing 
the elements of future greatness. But France 
could not then appreciate its value, and disre- 
garded as worthless this poor remnant of her 
once splendid possessions. 

1761. — The conquest of Canada and of the 
Indian allies of France withdrew the war from 
America, but it continued to rage in Europe un- 
til 1762, when a treaty of peace was signed at 
Paris, by which France ceded to Great Britain 



CESSION OF CANADA TO ENGLAND. 119 

all the conquests made from her by that power 
on the Continent of North America, together 
with the river and port of Mobile, and all the 
territory to which she had any claim on the left 
bank of the Mississippi, reserving only the island 
of New-Orleans. And it w^as agreed that, for 
the future, the boundary between the dominions 
of the two crowns, in that quarter of the world, 
should be a line drawn along the middle of the 
Mississippi, from its source as far as the River 
Iberville, and thence along the middle of that 
river, and of the Lakes Maurepas and Pont- 
chartrain. 

The loss of the other French possessions in- 
creased the population of Louisiana. Numbers 
of the Canadians, unwilling to live under the 
dominion of the English, withdrew to Louisiana, 
where the Acadians had already found a home. 
Some settled in their neighbourhood ; others fixed 
themselves in Attakapas ; and others in Opelou- 
sas. These hardy sons of the North, active, 
industrious, and brave, gave a new impulse to 
their Southern brethren. Another accession, 
though of a different character, added still farther 
to their numbers. Many Indians, friendly to 
France, and living at Baton Rouge, Natchez, 
and JMobile, finding these places given up to the 



120 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

English, left them, and came to New-Orleans. 
Kerlerec, gratified by this evidence of their at- 
tachment, granted them lands on the west side 
of the Mississippi. The King of France, how- 
ever, disapproved of this measure, fearing, prob- 
ably, that it would give offence to England ; 
recalled Kerlerec, and sent him to the Bastile. 
The vexation occasioned by this unjust imprison- 
ment was supposed to have hastened his death, 
which happened soon after his release. 

1764. — This year the French king issued an 
order banishing the Jesuits from all his domin- 
ions, and ordering their property everywhere to 
be confiscated and sold : the sale of their pos- 
sessions in Louisiana produced the sum of one 
hundred and eighty thousand dollars. 

The financial affairs of the province were not 
at this moment in a very prosperous condition. 
The government had issued such a quantity of 
bills that they became utterly worthless ; and 
the people, believing that this had been done 
not so much for the public benefit as for the ad- 
vantage of some few individuals, had little faith 
that the mother country would ever redeem them. 
This was a serious disadvantage to the trade of 
the colony. 



LOSSES ENCOUNTERED BY SPAIN. 121 



CHAPTER X. 

Louisiana ceded to Spain. 

1765. — While Louisiana was lamenting the 
Joss of Canada, and still more deeply her separ- 
ation from the cantons on the eastern shore of the 
Mississippi, she was doomed shortly to undergo a 
severer mortification. 

Spain had avoided engaging in the late con- 
flict between France and England, until, becom- 
ing alarmed at the increasing power of the Brit- 
ish in America, and fearing for her own posses- 
sions there, she resolved on taking part in the 
contest, and early in the year 1762 declared w^ar 
against Great Britain. The consequences of this 
step w^ere very serious to her ; for before the end 
of the year she suffered several severe losses, and 
the important city of Havana, commanding in a 
great measure the Gulf of Mexico, was taken 
from her. 

This career of conquest, which seemed to 
threaten France and Spain with the loss of all 
their colonies, was arrested by overtures for peace, 
Vvhich terminated in the Treaty of Paris, restoring 



122 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Havana to Spain, though to regain it she was 
obhged to cede the Floridas to England. 

By a secret article of this treaty, Louis XV. 
had engaged to compensate Spain for the loss ot 
the Floridas, by giving up to her all that remain- 
ed to France of Louisiana. This arrangement 
was for some time kept secret from the people of 
that colony ; and when at length the rumour of 
it reached them, they refused to beheve it. They 
could not conceive that France should volunta- 
rily resign a country possessed of such immense 
natural advantages ; and which, having now sur- 
mounted the first difficulties of colonization, was 
just rising into importance. But they were not 
permitted to deceive themselves long. The royal 
letter making known the fact of the cession was 
published by D'Abbadie, the successor of Kerle- 
rec, and the colonists were thrown into utter de- 
spair. 

Employments of every kind were suspended ; 
the most respectable people from all parts of the 
country hastened to New-Orleans ; and nothing 
but the cession was thought of. A meeting of the 
principal inhabitants was called, and Lafreniere, 
the attorney-general, in an eloquent speech rec« 
ommended to them to carry their complaints to 
the throne itself. The proposal was eagerly 



FAILURE OF MILHET's MISSION. 123 

adopted ; and Jean Milhet, the richest and most 
influential merchant of the city, was intrusted 
with this important mission. 

Bienville was still living in France : he was 
now eighty-seven years old ; but he had not for- 
gotten Louisiana, the land of his adoption, and 
the country to which the energies of his youth 
had been devoted. To see her on the point of 
being given up to strangers was a deep affliction 
to him, and he earnestly united his efforts to hers 
to prevent it. He accordingly presented Milhet 
to the Duke de Choiseul, who was at that time 
all-powerful with the king, though without know- 
ing that this minister himself was the chief promo- 
ter of the cession. The duke received them gra- 
ciously, and listened attentively to all they had 
to say, but with consummate art defeated all 
their efforts. Milhet was unable to obtain an 
audience of the king, and his mission wholly 
failed. 

Another disappointment was involved in this. 
For some time past Louisiana had been experi- 
encing very serious evils from a depreciated 
paper currency. Labour, commerce, and agri- 
culture were all suffering from this cause, and 
France alone could repair the evil. The citizens 
of Ijouisiana, entertaining no doubts of the sue- 



124 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

cess of their application, had also commissioned 
Milhet to seek for relief from their pecuniary 
difficulties. 

Three years had now passed away since the 
Treaty of Paris, and two years since D'Abbadie 
had received orders to surrender Louisiana to 
any Spanish officer who might be empowered to 
take possession of it, but as yet no such officer 
had appeared. Could it be possible that the 
Spanish king had relinquished his claim ? Such, 
at least, was the hope cherished by the people 
of Louisiana, till at length Milhet returned and 
informed him of his failure. 

1766. — Any lingering hopes they might still 
have entertained w^ere dissipated by the recep- 
tion of a letter from Don Antonio de Ulloa to the 
Superior Council, announcing his arrival to take 
possession of the colony in the name of Charles 
III., by whom he had been appointed its gov- 
ernor. But the Louisianians, irritated by their 
repeated disappointments, and more than ever 
determined not to submit to the dominion of a 
foreign power, resolved on resistance. Lafreni- 
ere, the attorney-general, excited them to take 
this resolution ; and, to encourage them in it, he 
quoted the example of the Burgundians, who, 
when summoned to acknowledge Charles V., to 



RESIS'iANCE OF THE LOUISIANIANS. 125 

whom Francis I. had surrendered their province 
as the price of his Hberty after the battle of Pavia, 
thus repUed : " We are a part of France ; and 
the territory of France is inahenable." Finally, 
Lafreniere pointed them to the English colonies 
at the North, then preparing to begin their strug- 
gle for independence. 

His address greatly increased the irritation of 
the people, and five hundred of the most respect- 
able citizens immediately signed and presented a 
petition to the Superior Council, that they would 
require Don Ulloa and his troops to quit Louisi- 
ana ; not doubting they had a right to take this 
step, as the Spanish commander had as yet ex- 
hibited no credentials. 

Aubry, who, in consequence of the death of 
D'Abbadie, temporarily held the office of gov- 
ernor, endeavoured to calm the excited passions 
of the people ; but he only succeeded in render- 
ing himself odious. They were indignant that a 
French governor should think of submitting to 
an insolent stranger, who had come to demand 
a transfer of their allegiance, so far as it ap- 
peared, without any authority for doing so. Don 
Ulloa had already landed at New-Orleans with 
two companies of infantry, but had refused to 
communicate his credentials to the council, in- 



126 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

asmuch as he had shown them, he said, to 
Aubry, the French officer commanding at the 
Bahze, and had received from him the surrender 
of the country. Aubry, indeed, confirmed this 
statement ; but this did not all prove satisfactory. 

In this state of things, the reception of Don 
Ulloa was, as might have been expected, by no 
means cordial Still he was permitted to remain 
without being molested, and even to explore and 
examine the country. He inspired no fear, and 
was treated with indifference. 

1767. — This year the yellow^ fever showed it- 
self for the first time at New-Orleans. It was 
attributed by the citizens to the arrival of the 
Spaniards, and this greatly increased their ill- 
will towards them; until, at last, the Superior 
Council consented to the wishes of the people, 
who, from the continued refusal of Don Ulloa to 
show his credentials, were more than ever con- 
vinced that Spain had ceased to think of claim- 
ing Louisiana, and insisted that he should, with- 
out delay, be expelled from the country. Meas- 
ures were accordingly taken to carry their deter- 
mination into effect ; and the council required of 
Don Ulloa either to produce his credentials from 
the king his master, that they might be duly re- 
gistered, and promulgated through the province, 



INSULT OFFERED THE SPANIARDS. 127 

or to quit it within a month; and the citizens 
took up arms to enforce the demand. 

It is difficult to comprehend the obstinacy of 
this man, who chose rather to leave the country 
than present the required proofs of his mission. 
Ho had not sufficient force to enter into a contest 
with the inhabitants, and therefore he determined 
to withdraw with his troops, and embarked on 
board a Spanish vessel that was preparing to sail 
the next day. That evening a wedding feast 
was given by one of the princip.al merchants of 
the town. The jovial party did not break up 
until it was late ; and as the young men were re- 
turning to their homes, they noticed the vessel on 
board which the Spaniards were, lying in the 
stream. Excited by wine, some of the wildest 
among them proposed to give their friends a 
parting cheer ; and rushing to the levee, singing 
and shouting, they jumped into some boats that 
lay near, rov>^ed to the vessel, and cutting her 
cables, she drifted down the stream, followed by 
the shouts and hurrahs of these hairbrained youth. 
This foolish frolic was probably one of the causes 
which led to the sacrifice of some of the most 
valuable citizens of Louisiana. 

Soon after the departure of Don Ulloa, an as- 
sembly of the people was convened to deliberate 



128 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

on the mode of presenting to the King of France 
another supplication in their behalf; and at this 
meeting Saint Lette, a merchant of Natchitoches, 
and Le Sassiere, a member of the Superior Coun- 
cil, were chosen to offer the petition. These 
commissioners were detained three months at 
sea by unfavourable winds, and did not reach 
Paris until after a representation had been re- 
ceived there from the court of Madrid, detailing" 
all the circumstances, and complaining of the 
conduct of the people of Louisiana tow^ards the 
Spaniards. 

1769. — Bienville's long and useful life had 
come to a close, and Choiseul was still in the 
ministry. He received Saint Lette, who had 
been his schoolfellow, with much kindness, but 
w^ould not listen to his petition ; assuring him 
that it was too late, and that the King of Spain 
had already sent out a force sufficiently powerful 
to put down all opposition, and take undisputed 
possession of the country. He sought to requite 
his friend for the disappointment he had experi- 
enced by giving him a lucrative office. 

The last act of the French administration in 
Louisiana was to relieve the country from its 
financial difficulties. All the paper-money, now 
reduced to two thirds of its original value, was 



O^REILLY ARRIVES AT NEW-ORLEANS. 129 

redeemed ; and, as there were no means for the 
immediate payment of the debt, an annual in- 
terest of five per cent, was allowed on it. 

The return of Le Sassiere had destroyed all 
hopes from the mother country ; vague and 
alarming rumours respecting the Spaniards were 
in circulation, and the inhabitants knew not 
what to expect. About this time a letter was 
received from Bordeaux, stating that France was 
determined to retain Louisiana; but the hopes 
thus raised soon vanished: for on the 27th of 
July information reached New-Orleans that the 
captain-general, O'Reilly, was at the entrance 
of the Mississippi with a frigate and twenty- 
eight transports, having on board four thousand 
nine hundred men, and a quantity of arms and 
ammunition. This news, as may readily be sup- 
posed, spread consternation through the town. 
Some few of the most determined talked of re- 
sistance ; but it was too evident that any such 
attempt would be useless, and that there was no 
alternative but submission. They made choice, 
therefore, of three representatives, Lafreniere, 
Grandmaison, and Marent, to signify to the Span- 
ish commcmder the submission of the colony; 
accompanied by a request, however, that those 
who wished to leave the country should be al- 



130 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

lowed two years to dispose of their property. 
O'Reilly received the deputies with affability ; 
assured them that he should cheerfully comply 
with all reasonable demands; that those who 
were willing to remain should enjoy a mild anu 
paternal government ; and, in regard to past of- 
fences, the perfidious commander added that he 
was disposed to forget them, and had come, not 
to punish, but to pardon. 

This declaration somewhat calmed the excite- 
ment of the people, and they prepared to receive 
the Spanish general w^ith decent respect. 

The next day he landed at the head of his 
troops, and they marched in battle array to the 
parade-ground, Vvhere Aubry, with the French 
garrison, w^as waiting to receive them. The 
w^hite flag of France, which was waving on a 
high pole, was now slowly lowered, and that of 
Spain hoisted in its place, while the troops of 
both nations kept up an irregular discharge cf 
small arms. Thus ended the dominion of the 
French on the shores of the Mississippi, where 
they had ruled for seventy years ; and Louisiana 
became a dependancy of Spain. 



CHARACTER OF o'rEILLY. 131 



CHAPTER XL 

Conduct of O'Reilly.— Villere. — Acts of the Spanish Govern 
ment. 

1769. — The new Spanish governor was by 
birth an Irishman, who, going to Spain with 
a body of Irish troops, had been so success- 
ful in gaining the king's favour that he load- 
ed him with honours and benefits. He was a 
small man, and as mean in disposition as in stat- 
ure : thin and lame, but with something striking, 
though disagreeable, in his appearance. He was 
vindictive in his character, and his ambition knew 
no bounds. For some unknown reason, he enter- 
tained a violent hatred against the French, which 
led him to acts of unexampled barbarity. He 
came to Louisiana with the title of governor and 
captain-general ; and being clothed with unlimit- 
ed power, he abused his short-lived authority in 
every possible manner. He took upon him the 
state of a sovereign ; had his throne, his levees, 
his guards, who constantly attended him ; and he 
did not want for courtiers. 

His first public act was to take the census oi 



132 .HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

the city. This was soon done, as the town con- 
tained only 3190 inhabitants. He next ordered 
the arrest of Foucault, intendant of the colony. 
Lafreniere, the attorney-general, Noyant, his son- 
in-law, and Boisblanc, both members of the Su 
perior Council. They were attending the levee 
of the tyrant, when, requesting them to step into 
an adjoining apartment, he delivered them over 
to a party of soldiers, who immediately put them 
in irons. A few days after, Marquis, Doucet, 
Petit, Marent, Caresse, Poupet, and the two Mil- 
hets were added to the number of prisoners. 

Villere was now the only victim wanting ; and 
he was the most important one, as he had been 
at the head of all the most violent measures. It 
was no easy matter for O'Reilly to get him into 
his power, as, on hearing of the submission of 
New-Orleans, he had retired to his plantation in 
the Parish of St. Charles, in the midst of friends 
who detested the Spaniards no less cordially than 
he did himself. He was, however, on the point 
of taking refuge with the English at Manchac, 
lest he might implicate his neighbours, when he 
received a letter from Aubry, assuring him that he 
might return to New-Orleans without danger, and 
that he would be security for his safety. The 
motives that could have induced this officer thus 



ARREST OF VILLERE. 133 

to betray his countryman, and lend himself as an 
instrument of revenge to a vile adventurer, have 
never been clearly ascertained ; but his name has 
ever since been held in execration in Louisiana ; 
and there were none found to lament his fate, 
when, on his return to France, he perished by 
shipwreck. The vessel in which he had embark- 
ed with his troops was lost in the Gironde, near 
the tower of Cordovan. She was richly laden 
with a cargo consisting of furs, indigo, and a 
million of dollars in specie. Only the captain 
and four of the crew were saved. 

But to return to Villere. On the faith of this 
promise he came to New-Orleans, and fearlessly 
presented himself before the governor. But he 
had no sooner entered the house and begun to 
mount the stairs, than the guards stationed there 
descended each one step as he ascended one, 
with the design of closing in after him. He 
stopped for a moment on the second step : he 
was a man of uncommon strength, and there 
were as yet but two soldiers behind him. It was 
but for a moment he hesitated ; with a disdainful 
smile he surveyed the living chain forming around 
him, and came into the presence of the governor 
with the air rather of a superior than of a culprit. 
O'Reilly, hardened as he was in cruelty, seemed 



134 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

to feel some compunction at the thought of mur- 
dering such a man. 

Villere was accompanied by a friend who was 
willing to share his danger. This was an old 
Swedish officer who had fought under Charles 
XII., and at the battle of Pultowa had received 
eleven wounds, all in facing the enemy. At the 
sight of this venerable old man, whose gray 
hairs seemed to give a sanction to the rebellion, 
O'Reilly flew into a violent passion, and ex- 
claimed, " I ought to hang you also on the high- 
est gibbet that can be found." " Do so," replied 
the old soldier; "the rope cannot disgrace this 
neck ;" and, baring his bosom, he exhibited the 
scars of his wounds, when the tyrant shrunk 
from the si<yht, and the old man was released. 

Villere was sent a prisoner on board of a ves- 
sel at anchor in the Mississippi. He had been 
there but a short time, and was in the cabin 
quietly conversing with the captain, when a boat 
passed with a female in it : she was in tears, and 
he recognised her as his wife. She had heard of 
his danger, and was then hastening to join hiin 
at New-Orleans. His first impulse was to make 
himself known, and the sympathizing captain- 
offered to hail the boat; but Villere, recollecting 
himself, prevented him. " No," said he ; " the 



DEATH OF VILLERE. 135 

sudden shock of seeing me in this situation would 
kill her ;" and he remained calmly watching the 
boat as it bore her from his sight. But the effort 
to repress his feelings had been more than he could 
bear ; the blood rushed to his brain ; and, seized 
with sudden phrens}^, he fiew^ to the deck and 
attacked the Spanish guards. The captain fol- 
lowed in haste, and called to the guards not 
to injure him ; but it was too late : he had 
already received their bayonets in his body, 
and only recovered his senses to know that he 
was dying. 

The captain, finding all assistance useless, 
could only offer to fulfil his last commands. 
'• Promise me, then," said Villere, " that you will 
give these blood-stained garments to my chil- 
dren ; and tell them it is my last command 
that they never bear arms for Spain, nor against 
France." The captain did as he was requested, 
and the children of Villere faithfully obeyed the 
dying injunction of their father. Louisiana grate- 
fully remem,bered the devotion of her martyr, 
and, when she recovered her liberty, chose his 
son for her governor. 

These circumstances have been variously re- 
lated by historians, but this account was received 
L 



136 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

from the daughter of Villere, a respectable old 
lady, still living in 1840 near New-Orleans. 

The other prisoners were immediately brought 
to trial. The charge against them was founded 
on a law of Alphonso XL, punishing with death 
and confiscation of property all persons guilty of 
rebellion against the king or the state ; or, in 
other words, all who should take up arms for 
their rights and liberties ; and accomplices were 
subject to the same penalties. 

Foucault and Brault maintained that they 
owed no account of their conduct but to the 
King of France, whose subjects they had never 
ceased to be. The first was sent to Paris, the 
second acquitted. 

The other prisoners also pleaded, but to no 
purpose, the incompetency of the tribunal before 
which they had been brought. In vain did they 
allege that they could not be declared rebels 
against Spain for anything they might have done 
while the French flag yet waved over the colony; 
that they owed no submission to Spain till her 
representative had exhibited his credentials ; and 
that the prince who did not yet protect had no 
right to punish them. 

Six victims had been chosen by O'Reilly to 
serve as an example to the province ; but Villere 



EXECUTION OF LAFRENIERE, ETC. 13? 

having been assassinated, he contented himself 
with condemning five to death. The testimony 
of two witnesses against each of the accused was 
necessary to give a colour of legality to their 
condemnation; and these were easily found. 
Lafreniere, Noyant, Marquis, Joseph Milhet, and 
Caresse were sentenced to be hung, and their 
property confiscated. The unfortunate Louisi- 
anians vainly implored of the inexorable O'Reilly 
a delay that would enable them to have recourse 
to the royal clemency. The only favour he could 
be prevailed on to grant was the substitution of 
shooting for hanging. 

On the 28th of September, the day appointed 
for the execution, all the troops were drawn up 
under arms on the levee and in the public square; 
the gates were closed, the posts all re-enforced, 
and a strong patrol paraded through the de- 
serted streets ; the inhabitants having all retired 
to their houses the evening before, that they 
might not witness the death of their friends. 
The five victims were led out into the small 
square in front of the barracks, where they met 
then- fate with the utmost courage and resignation. 
It was attempted to blindfold them, when 
Marquis, a Swiss captain in the service of France, 
indignantly opposed it. " I have," said he, 



138 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

" risked my life many a time in the service of 
my adopted country, and have never feared to 
face my enemies." And then, addressing his 
companions, "Let us," he exclaimed, "die like 
brave men : we need not fear death." Coolly 
taking a pinch of snuff, and turning to the Span- 
iards, he said, " Take notice, Spaniards, that we 
die because we will not cease to be French. As 
for myself, though a foreigner by birth, my heart 
belongs to France. For thirty years I have 
fought for Louis le bien-aimS, and I glory in a 
death that proves my attachment to him. Fire, 
executioners !" 

However much these unfortunate men might 
have erred in rashly resisting an authority v/hich 
they certainly had reason to believe legitimate, 
they appear to have been actuated by the purest 
motives, and their unhappy fate increased the aver- 
sion of their fellow-countrymen to the Spaniards. 
The treacherous conduct of O'Reilly made him an 
object of detestation, and rendered it much more 
difficult for Spain to conciliate her new subjects. 

The other six prisoners, Boisblanc, Doucet, Ma- 
rent, Jean Milhet, Petit, and Poupet, were sen- 
tenced, the first to imprisonment for life, and the 
others for a term of years. They were sent to 
Havana, and confined in the dungeons of the 
Moro Castle. 



CHANGE IN THE GOVERNMENT. 139 

The next act of O'Reilly was to change the 
form of government. France, by a special arti- 
cle of the treaty, had stipulated that the admin- 
istration should be carried on in the same man- 
ner as it had been before. But to this it was ob- 
jected that the Superior Court having set the ex- 
ample of revolt, its dissolution had become both 
legal and necessary. 

Under the dominion of France the administra- 
tion of Louisiana consisted of a governor, an in- 
tend ant, a commissary, and a comptroller. In 
1719 a Superior Council had been created, com- 
posed of two lord -lieutenants, four counsellors, 
an attorney-general, and a recorder ; and in this 
body the directors of the Mississippi Company 
were also entitled to a seat. Several judges had 
likewise been appointed. The governor was, ex 
officio, president of the council. , 

This organization was set aside by the Span- 
iards, and in place of it they established a Cabildo, 
or Grand Council, w-ith the governor at its head, 
and consisting of six regidors, two alcaldes, a re- 
corder, and a procurator-syndic-general, the office 
of the latter being to act in behalf of the people, 
and to protect their rights and interests. This 
officer and the alcaldes were chosen by the Cabil- 
do on the first of January in each year. The prov- 



140 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

ince was governed by the captain-general, the 
governor, an intendant, two auditors, one for civ- 
il and one for military affairs, and the requisite 
number of inferior officers. 

The crown appointed to all offices where 
the salary was more than three hundred dollars, 
except that the governor and the intendant were 
allow^ed to choose their own subordinates. The 
governor was supreme judge in all civil and 
criminal matters; the intendant had the same 
power over all fiscal and maritime affairs; and 
the vicar-general over everything relating to ec- 
clesiastical concerns. 

Each parish was provided with a civil and 
military commandant, who ranked as a captain, 
and whose duties were to maintain order and 
support the police ; to decide all suits in which 
the sum ift question did not exceed twenty dol- 
lars ; to arrest white persons accused of crimes, 
and, as the governor might direct, either release 
them, or send them to the town for trial ; and to 
take cognizance of and punish all offences among 
the slaves ; besides which, he kept the records of 
the parish as notary. 

The laws of Castile were substituted for those 
of France, but the change was less apparent than 
it would have been had they not both emanated 
from the Roman code. 



o'reilly's new regulations. 141 

A corps of volunteers was raised, which was 
called the regiment of Louisiana. Nuzaga re- 
ceived the temporary command of it, and he 
chose natives of Louisiana for his officers ; these 
readily accepted their commissions, as the pay 
allowed by Spain was higher than that of France. 

On his return from a tour along the upper part 
of the river, where he was received by the inhab- 
itants with a cold submission, O'Reilly published 
several regulations respecting unoccupied lands. 
To every family desiring to settle in the province 
he granted six or eight acres on the river, with 
the ordinary depth of forty acres ; but they were 
required to construct at their own expense the 
levees, dikes, and roads ; nor was any one allow- 
ed to dispose of his lands until he had made these 
improvements. To furnish a revenue to the city 
of New-Orleans, a tax was laid on ^buildings, 
and especially on taverns, coffee-houses, billiard- 
rooms, boarding-houses, and slaughter-houses, 
and also on spirituous liquors. 

To rescue Indian prisoners from torture and 
death, the inhabitants were authorized to buy 
them, and employ them on their plantations as 
slaves. There were already a number of them 
in the province in this condition ; and the rights 
of their masters were recognised by the new 
government. 



142 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

But these regulations, notwithstanding their 
prudence and utility, had but little effect in at- 
tachinof the French to their new masters. The 
greater part of the rich planters, the merchants, 
and the mechanics, had already retired to St. 
Domingo, and the emigration still continued. 
To preserve the country from utter depopulation, 
O'Reilly issued orders that no more passports 
should be granted. Who would have then im- 
agined, that in twenty years from that time the 
colonists of St. Domingo would come in crowds 
to seek an asylum in Louisiana 1 

1770. — During this year O'Reilly departed for 
Spain, and the province was annexed to the 
captain-generalship of Cuba. Nuzaga, who suc- 
ceeded to the government, endeavoured, by a 
truly paternal administration, to heal the wounds 
which had been inflicted by O'Reilly. It has 
been said that the King of Spain disapproved of 
the conduct of the latter, and forbid him the 
court ; but of this there appears to be no proof 
On the contrary, it is certain that in this very 
year he was appointed inspector-general of all 
the troops in Spanish America ; and three years 
later we find him occupying the important post 
of militar}^ governor of Madrid. In 1775 he 
was intrusted with the command of an expedi- 



HEROIC CONDUCT OF YOUNG MARENT. l43 

tion against Algiers, where he was completely 
defeated, wdth a loss of fifteen thousand men, a 
great part of his artillery, provisions, &c. Then, 
and not till then, public indignation was roused 
against O'Reilly ; but Charles, w^ho still regarded 
him with favour, to save him from the fury of the 
populace of Madrid, conferred on him the cap- 
taincy of Andalusia. 

The Louisianians confined in the castle at 
Havana owed their liberation to the filial affec- 
tion of the heroic son of Marent, who, on being 
presented to the king by the French ambassador 
at Madrid, threw himself at his feet, and en- 
treated that he might be permitted to take his 
father's place. This noble conduct recalls to our 
recollection the old Indian w^arrior who offered 
himself as a sacrifice for his son. Boisblanc, 
Doucet, Milhet, Marent, Poupet, and Petit re- 
turned no more to Louisiana: part of them set- 
tled in France, and the others in St. Domingo. 

Foucault was sent by the French government 
to the Bastilej but this seeming severity must 
have been only for a pretence, as he w^as in a 
very short time set at liberty, and sent to the 
Isle of Bourbon as commissary intendant. 

The colony now began to flourish ; money was 
abundant, and agriculture improving. Its com- 



144 HISTORY or LOUISIANA. 

merce, however, was not sufficiently extended, 
being confined to six ports in Spain ; viz., Ali- 
cant, Barcelona, Carthagena, Corunna, Malaga, 
and Seville. At a later period two French ships 
were allowed to participate in it. But the Eng- 
lish settled on the Mississippi carried on an im- 
mense contraband trade with the planters on that 
river, all whose wants they supplied on credit; 
Nuzaga conniving at a course of things so ad- 
vantageous to the colony. 

1772. — This year the country was visited by a 
tremendous hurricane, which raged for four days. 
It spared New-Orleans, but did great mischief to 
the plantations. The mulberry-trees were af- 
fected by it in a very singular manner: their 
leaves were all killed, but they budded again, 
blossomed for the second time, and produced an- 
other crop of fruit. The next winter the orange- 
trees were destroyed for the third time. 

1773. — While Louisiana belonged to the 
French, it formed a part of the diocese of Que- 
bec, but was now attached to that of Cuba ; and 
a priest and two nuns were sent by the gov- 
ernment at Madrid to instruct the youth of the 
province in the Castilian language, the only 
thing under the name of education that Spain 
ever encouraged there. Nuzaga continued to 



WISE CONDUCT OF NUZAGA. 145 

manifest the greatest solicitude for the welfare of 
the people committed to his care. He became 
the arbitrator of their disputes, and endeavoured 
to render justice to all, interposing his friendly 
offices between debtors and creditors, and mas- 
ters and slaves. A number of the latter had es- 
caped to the cypress swamps, whence they issued 
at night to commit depredations on the planta- 
tions. He issued a proclamation, offering pardon 
to all who would return to their masters, and 
promising they should not be punished. But 
soon after this he left Louisiana, universally re- 
spected and regretted. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Galvez. — War with England. — Mira.— St. Domingo. 

1777.— Galvez, the next governor, although a 
young man, displayed no less solicitude for the 
welfare of the colony, and prudence in mana- 
ging its affairs, than had Nuzaga. He allowed 
French ships to come from the West India Isl- 
ands to Louisiana in ballast, and return loaded 
with the produce of the country, which they paid 
for either in silver, bills of exchange, or negroes 



146 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

shipped direct from Guinea, no others being per- 
mitted to be brought 5 as the spirit of insurrection, 
which had ah-eady shown itself at St. Domingo, 
might, it was feared, be communicated to the 
black population of the colony, if slaves from 
those islands were introduced. Vessels belong- 
ing to the colony were authorized to load with Eu- 
ropean goods from Campeachy and the Island of 
Cuba, and to export their own produce to France 
and the United States, while all the ports of 
Spain were open to them. Still farther to en- 
courage commercial enterprise, the duties on to- 
bacco were reduced, and furs admitted duty free ; 
though, when re-exported to other countries, they 
became subject to a moderate impost. 

These regulations increased the commercial 
prosperity of the country, and encouraged immi- 
gration. Several families from the Canary Isl- 
ands settled at Terre-aux-Bceufs, at Galveston, 
at Valenzuela, and on the La Fourche and Amity 
Rivers. The expenses of their voyage were paid 
by the government, who farther supplied each 
family with a quantity of land, a cottage, imple- 
ments of agriculture, cattle, and provisions. Sub- 
sequently a colony from Malaga settled on the 
banks of the Teche River, under the same advan- 
tages extended to them by the government. 



AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 147 

They attempted the cultivation of hemp and flax, 
though without success, either owing to want of 
skill, or that the climate and soil were unsuited 
to their growth. 

The pope had interdicted a book written by 
Mercier, author of the Tableau de Paris ; and the 
King of Spain forbade its being read by his sub- 
jects of Louisiana. It w^as entitled " The Year 
2440 : A Dream, if ever there was one." The 
History of America, by Robertson, was also in- 
terdicted. 

The greater part of the Northern Continent 
was at this time convulsed by the war of Amer- 
ican independence ; but Spain having hitherto re- 
sisted the efforts of France to draw her into the 
contest, Louisiana continued to enjoy undisturb- 
ed repose. The desire of recovering Jamaica, 
Gibraltar, and the Floridas, was a powerful in- 
ducement to her to join the confederacy against 
England ; but fear of the effects which the inde- 
pendence of the United States might have on her 
own colonies, made her prefer endeavouring to 
effect her objects by pacific rather than by war- 
Uke means. She offered, therefore, to mediate 
between the contending powers. France readily 
accepted the proposition; but the English min- 
ister evaded any explicit declaration, though in 



148 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

general terms he stated that nothing would be 
more gratifying to his sovereign than to conclude 
a peace on honourable terms under the auspices 
of his Catholic majesty. In consequence of these 
professions, the Spanish minister proposed a truce 
for a terra of years 3 and that a congress of plen- 
ipotentiaries from the belligerent powers should 
assemble at Madrid, to adjust the conditions of 
a permanen^^ treaty, into which deputies from the 
United States should be admitted, as the repre- 
sentatives of a sovereign nation. No direct ac- 
knowledgment of their independence was to be 
required ; but the fact was to be understood, and 
they were to be considered as wholly separated 
from the British empire. 

The negotiation being protracted to a great 
length, Spain employed the interval in preparing 
for hostilities, and finally pressed her mediation 
in a manner that rendered it necessary either that 
it should be accepted or peremptorily declined. 
The cabinet of St. James, no longer able to 
equivocate, now declared that the independence 
of the colonies could not be assented to, and 
upon this the King of Spain no longer hesitated 
to take part in the war. 

17^9. — On the departure of the Spanish min- 
ister from London without soliciting an audience 



GALVEZ ATTACKS THE ENGLISH POSTS. 149 

of leave, the British government issued letters of 
marque and reprisal against the vessels and sub- 
jects of Spain. A powerful Spanish fleet had 
been getting ready while the negotiations were 
pending, and it was now despatched to co-op- 
erate with that of France, and assist the Ameri- 
cans. Although Spain had not yet formally ac- 
knowledged their independence, nor were their 
ministers accredited at her court, she had resolv- 
ed to employ her arms in their favour, and sent 
to notify Galvez, the governor of Louisiana, of 
her intention to commence hostilities. 

The news was received with the utmost satis- 
faction. The governor himself was inclined to 
favour the American cause, and the French pop- 
ulation w^ere rejoiced at the opportunity thus pre- 
sented of avenging the injuries of the last war. 
Galvez had no difficulty in collecting an army. 
The Cabildo, indeed, remonstrated against his 
proceedings, but his ardour to engage in the con- 
test made him deaf to all their representations ; 
and, having assembled a body of fourteen thou- 
sand men, he advanced to attack the English col- 
onies. He obtained possession of Baton Rouge 
and Fort Bute, on the Iberville, and followed up 
these successes by the capture of Natchez and 
the forts on the Amity. This expedition was 



150 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

celebrated in French verse by Julian Poydras, 
who had the honour of seeing his little poem pub- 
lished at the expense of the government ; but it 
was not of a character to ensure immortality ei- 
ther to his hero or himself. 

In the midst of the rejoicings excited by these 
victories, one of those dreadful hurricanes that 
from time to time devastate the country was sent 
to repress the exultation of the inhabitants, and 
was followed by a still more terrible scourge — 
the smallpox. The young were chiefly marked 
as its victims, and lamentation and grief were 
spread over the colony. 

1780. — Galvez, however, still persevered in 
his warlike career. He was only waiting for a 
re-enforcement from Havana to leave New-Or- 
leans at the head of a still more powerful force 
than had accompanied him on his last expedition. 
But he had now to contend with the elements. 
Having set sail with his troops for Mobile, he en- 
countered a furious tempest, in which one of his 
sloops of war was driven ashore. Still he suc- 
ceeded in effecting a landing on the shores of the 
bay, and Fort Charlotte fell into his hands. The 
capture of Pensacola was yet wanting to com- 
plete his conquests ; but this place was defended 
by a force superior to his own. He proceeded, 



CAPTURE OF PENSACOLA BY GALVEZ. 151 

therefore, to Havana, to obtain such additional 
troops as he needed. But, as he was returning, 
several of his transports having foundered in a vio- 
lent storm, and the others being driven out of their 
course, he was compelled to put back. In Feb- 
ruary he sailed again, with a fleet consisting of 
one ship of the line, two frigates, and several 
transport ships, having on board fourteen hun- 
dred well-appointed troops; and nine days after 
he landed on the Island of Saint Rosa, where he 
constructed a fort. Espeletta, wdth the troops 
from Mobile, and Miro, with those from New-Or- 
leans, soon joined him. Irazabel, however, who 
commanded the fleet, refused to cross the bar of 
the Bay of Pensacola, when Galvez ordered Cap- 
tain Rousseau to attempt it with a brig, a schoon- 
er, and a gunboat, being himself on board of the 
brig. The bar, notwithstanding the fire of the 
English batteries, was safely passed, amid the 
acclamations of the army ; and all the other ves- 
sels, except that of the admiral, followed the ex- 
ample. 

Evacuating Pensacola, the English retired to 
Fort George, threatening Galvez that, if he at- 
tempted its capture, they would immediately set 
fire to it. The fort, however, was besieged ; and, 
being well provided with batteries, Campbell;* the 



152 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

English commander, defended himself for some 
time with great bravery ; but his powder maga- 
zine blowing up, a great part of the walls were 
thrown down, and he capitulated. Thus the 
whole of Florida, and eight hundred prisoners, 
fell into the hands of the Spaniards. 

1782. — Another hurricane was experienced 
this year, occasioning great destruction ; and af- 
terward the Mississippi was swollen to a height 
never witnessed before. All the high grounds 
not reached by the inundation, in the Attakapas 
and Opelousas, w^ere covered with immense herds 
of deer, seeking refuge from the waters. 

The services of Galvez were amply rewarded. 
For the capture of Baton Rouge and Natchez, he 
had conferred on him the rank of brigadier- gen- 
eral ; for the taking of Mobile, that of major-gen- 
eral ; and the conquest of Florida raised him to 
the dignity of captain-general of Louisiana and 
West Florida, with the brevet of lieutenant-gen- 
eral of the armies of the king, and the cross of 
the order of Charles III. Thus Louisiana was 
made a captaincy-general, while New-Orleans be- 
came the see of a coadjutor of the Bishop of San- 
tiago de Cuba, in favour of Father Cerillo, who 
was consecrated bishop in partibus of Tricala. 

On his departure for Hispaniola, whither he 



SPAIN RECOVERS FLORIDA. ITy.i 

went to take the command of the Spanish forces 
destined to co-operate with those of France in 
an attempt upon Jamaica, Galvez left the reins 
of government in the hands of Estevan Miro, 
colonel of the royal army. 

The conquests of Galvez put a stop to the 
contraband trade which had greatly enriched the 
Louisianians; but, to compensate them for this 
loss, the King of Spain, at the solicitation of the 
youthful hero, granted them important commer- 
cial advantages, in consideration of the valua- 
ble services they had rendered during the war. 
They were allowed to trade with all the ports of 
France, and New-Orleans became the principal 
mart of Spanish mercliandise for all the other 
American possessions of his Catholic majesty. 

1783. — The peace which now took place be- 
tween France, Spain, and England, secured the 
independence of the United States, and arrested 
the warlike movements of Galvez. By this trea- 
ty Spain recovered both the Floridas, and her 
possessions were extended east of the Mississippi 
as far as the thirty-first degree of north latitude, 
which became the boundary between her colonies 
and the United States. 

1785. — Galvez was promoted to the captain- 
generalsliip of the Island of Cuba, still retaining 



154 HISTORY OF LOUISI.OA. 

that of Louisiana and West Florida, which he 
even continued to hold for some time after the 
king had appointed him viceroy of Mexico, in 
the place of his father, Don Mathias de Galvez, 
shortly after the death of the latter. 

On the departure of the viceroy for New-Spain, 
Miro was made governor of the two provinces. 
The population of Lower Louisiana was at this 
time 27,439, and that of the city of New-Orleans 
about 5000. In the space of sixteen years, or 
during the period the country had been in the 
possession of Spain, the number of inhabitants 
had more than doubled. A farther addition 
was made to the population by different fam- 
ilies emigrating from Canada, some of which set- 
tled at Terre-aux-Boeufs, others on the borders of 
La Fourche, and others in Attakapas and Ope- 
lousas. 

A priest, sent with the title of commissioner of 
the Holy Office, endeavoured at this time, against' 
the will of Miro, to estabhsh the Inquisition in 
Louisiana. Without the smallest ceremony, Miro 
had him seized and conveyed on board a vessel, 
which departed with him for Spain the same day. 

On the cessation of the contraband trade with 
Jamaica, the merchants of that island, to wdiom 
the inhabitants of Louisiana were largely indebt- 



MANIFESTO ISSUED BY MIRO. 155 

ed, came to claim and enforce the payment of 
the sums due to them. Miro interposed in a 
friendly manner in favour of those debtors who, 
being unable to make immediate payment, re- 
quested more time, which w^as granted them ; he 
also protected such poor and honest men as were 
hard pressed by their creditors, and obliged the 
rich either to remit, or make an abatement in 
their demands. 

1786. — Miro now published a Bando de huon 
Gobierno, a kind of manifesto which the Spanish 
governors w^ere accustomed to issue, setting forth 
the principles that would regulate their adminis- 
tration. In this he recommended the due observ- 
ance of holy time, and the closing of all shops 
and drinking-houses during divine service on 
Sunday; condemning in the severest terras the 
licentiousness so prevalent among all classes, as 
well as the idleness so general among the free 
negroes and Creoles, forbidding their wdves to 
wear jewels and feathers, and directing that ^ 
plain handkerchief should be their only head- 
dress. He prohibited gaming, duelling, carrying 
concealed weapons, and all meetings and dances 
among the slaves. No inhabitant could leave 
the colony without a passport, nor without giving 
security for the payment of his debts. Several 



156 HISTORY OF LOIISIANA. 

othef regulations equally wise, and some of 
which are still in force, were published in this 
manifesto. 

1787. — While Steuben was unsuccessfully en- 
gaged in attempting to establish a military col- 
ony on the Mississippi, and emigrants from Ken- 
tucky and North Carolina were founding New- 
Madrid, Guardoqui, the minister of Spain at the 
United States, was exerting all his efforts to put 
a stop to the contraband trade between Philadel- 
phia and New-Orleans. Miro, on the other hand, 
continued to tolerate it, and also to connive at a 
similar traffic carried on with Kentucky. His 
toleration of this illegal commerce may have 
proceeded from an apprehension that the people 
of the United States, if debarred from freely 
navigating the Mississippi, and enjoying this out- 
let for their produce, might attempt to possess 
themselves of New-Orleans. 

1788. — A heavy misfortune befell the city this 
year. On Good Friday, a chapel having taken 
fire, the flames extended to the adjoining build- 
ings, and the conflagration was not arrested until 
it had destroyed nine hundred houses and a large 
quantity of valuable merchandise. When the 
inhabitants of St. Domingo heard of this calam- 
ity, they generously came forward to aid the 



IMMIGUANTS FROM ST. DOMINGO. 157 

sufferers, and sent them a vessel loaded with 
building materials. One advantage derived from 
this misfortune was, that Miro availed himself 
of it to open a commercial intercourse between 
New-Orleans and the United States ; and Guar- 
doqui desisted from an opposition that, under the 
circumstances, was wholly useless, and only 
served to render him unpopular. The King of 
Spain gave his entire sanction to the measures 
of Miro. 

1791. — Nothing material occurred during the 
next three years; at the expiration of which, 
however, an opportunity was presented to the 
Louisianians of proving their gratitude to the 
colonists of St. Domingo for the sympathy and 
assistance they had at a former period of need 
received from them. The insurrection of the 
negroes in that island had driven numbers of its 
white inhabitants to seek an asylum in Louisiana, 
where they were received with the kindness they 
might so justly claim. Such of them as had 
loyal slaves were permitted, though contrary to 
the established regulations, to bring them into 
the country, where these exiled planters, by ap- 
plying themselves to the cultivation of the sugar- 
cane, more than repaid the favours they had 
received. Some who were quite destitute opened 



158 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

schools for the French children, which were very 
much needed. There also came over among 
them a company of French actors, the first that 
had appeared at New -Orleans. 

Miro, having been appointed a major-general 
in the Spanish army, now left the country, 
greatly to the regret of the inhabitants, and was 
succeeded by the Baron Carondelet. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Carondelet. — Fortification of New-Orleans. — Sugar Manufacto- 
ry. — French Emigrants.— Treaty between the United States 
and Spain. — Gayoso de Lemos. 

1791. — The Bando de huon Gohieitio issued by 
the new governor divided New-Orleans into four 
districts, at the head of each of which was 
placed a commissary of police {Alcalde de barrio), 
who performed also the duties of justice of the 
peace. Carondelet recommended to the Cabildo 
the lighting of the town ; but its revenues being- 
insufficient to enable them to do it, it was neces- 
sary to impose a tax of one dollar and an eighth 
on each chimney for this object. He also pub- 
lished several regulations in favour of the slaves, 



DEFENSIVE MEASURES OF CARONDELET. 159 

though at the same time he encouraged their im- 
portation, exempting the vessels engaged in it, as 
well as their cargoes, from the payment of any 
duties. 

1793. — A brisk trade was carried on between 
Louisiana and the United States at this time. 
New-Orleans was already becoming an important 
commercial city, and numbers of strangers, at- 
tracted by the prospect of gain, contributed to 
increase its population and business. But the 
place was exposed to dangers which Carondelet 
considered alarming. He determined, therefore, 
to fortify it, and caused two forts to be erect'ed 
on the river, the one above, the other below the 
town ; and also raised three redoubts in its rear, 
all on one line, and communicating with each 
other and Avith the two forts by means of a deep 
ditch. In the centre of each side was a battery 
placed in a lateral position, and they were sur- 
rounded by strong palisades. 

He also built Fort St. Philip, near the mouth of 
the Mississippi, and a smaller one opposite to 
it, to defend the approach by the river. 

The militia was at the same time organized 
throughout the province, amounting to five or six 
thousand men ; and New-Orleans alone furnished 
eight hundred volunteers. 



160 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

1794. — Louisiana and West Florida were now 
formed into one diocese, the bishop, Don Louis 
de Pinalvert, residing at New-Orleans. 

The defensive measures of Carondelet for the 
protection of New^-Orleans had been chiefly di- 
rected against Genet, the minister of the French 
Republic at the United States, who had concert- 
ed a plan for attacking that city. Genet was 
a young man of fine education, but his ungovern- 
able disposition and imperious character led him 
into all the rash and extravagant follies which 
characterized the rulers of France at that period. 
Having met with a flattering reception from the 
American people, out of gratitude to his country 
for favours received, he became insufferably pre- 
sumptuous, and assumed as many airs as he could 
have done at the court of some petty German 
prince. He even went so far as to authorize hos- 
tile armaments out of the American ports ; to 
confer on French consuls in the United States the 
power of condemning English prizes, and order- 
ing their sale; and even carried his audacity to 
the length of accusing Washington of violating 
the constitution of his country. He had found in 
Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania 
many American citizens who readily accepted 
officers' commissions from him ; and these would 
have no difficulty in recruit'ng soldiers amono 



INTRIGUES OF CARONDELET. 161 

the Western settlers, who were eager for the con- 
quest of Louisiana, the natural mart of all their 
produce. Thus it was arranged that two expe- 
ditions should simultaneously attack Louisiana 
and Florida. 

To counteract these plans, Carondelet sent one 
, of his emissaries. Power, who passed as an Eng- 
lish naturalist, to persuade the people of Ohio, 
Kentucky, and Tennessee to place themselves 
under the protection of Spain, which could alolie 
give to them the free navigation of the Mississip- 
pi. He offered also to aid them with money, 
arms, and provisions. 

These movements did not prevent Carondelet 
from occupying himself with the improvement of 
the colony. He caused the canal to be dug which 
stdl bears his name, and which was then partic- 
ularly useful, as it served to drain the marshes 
about the town, as well as to open an easy com- 
munication between New-Orleans, Mobile, and 
Pensacola. 

Don Andr6s de Almonaster, a man of large for- 
tune, powerfully seconded the views of the baron : 
he erected at his own expense the Cathedral of 
St. Louis at New-Orleans, the Town-hall,* the 
building now used as a Courthouse, and like- 
wise an hospital, which he endowed. 



162 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

The first sugar establishment was put in oper- 
ation at this period. An unsuccessful attempt 
had been made to convert the juice of the cane 
into sugar as far back as 1766. In 1785, a 
Spaniard at Terre-aux-BoeufSj named Soles, hav- 
ing procured a wooden mill from Havana, suc- 
ceeded in making molasses. His property was 
purchased by one Mendez, who continued the 
experiments of his predecessor, and at last ac- 
complished his object. The manufacture, how- 
ever, proving less profitable than he expected, 
he soon abandoned it, and contented himself 
with sendiufy his canes to market. No farther 
efforts were made until the arrival of the colo- 
nists from St. Domingo, who easily persuaded 
several of the Louisianians, and, among others, a 
man of the name of Bore, surnamed Chevrette, 
to embark in the cultivation of the cane; and 
this they were the more ready to do, as indigo 
was no longer profitable, the plant being de- 
stroyed by the grasshoppers every year. Many 
obstacles, however, were to be encountered in 
commencing this new culture. Capital was 
wanted, and labour and the requisite materials 
v/ere unreasonably dear. An able slave cost 
twelve or fifteen hundred dollars, and the sugar- 
maker exacted ten or fifteen dollars per hogshead 



genet's plans frustrated. 163 

for the manufactuiT'. But these discouragements 
had no effect on Bore ; he commenced at once 
to plant his canes, and erected a sugar-house at 
great expense. His enterprise was attended 
with complete success, and yielded him at once a 
profit of twelve thousand dollars. The culture 
of the cane soon entirely superseded that of 
indigo ; and such was the enthusiasm in favour 
of the former, that in the next five or six years 
seventy-five sugar-houses were erected. In 1800 
the sugar-crop yielded fifteen million livres. 

1795. — While Carondelet was engaged in 
establishing a more efficient police at New- 
Orleans, he had the satisfaction of hearing that 
the government of the United States had effectu- 
ally frustrated the plans of Genet, and that his 
principal agents had been arrested. Washing- 
ton, grossly insulted by this minister, had de- 
manded of the French government that he should 
be recalled ; and Congress were on the point of 
seriously considering whether he had not for- 
feited all the privileges attached to his office, 
when he was superseded. 

. The measures adopted by Carondelet against 
the Liberals were of the most rigid kind ; he for- 
bade all meetings of more than eight persons ; 
ordered all travellers to be stopped who were 



164 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

without passports ; and every person found cir- 
culating alarming rumours to be imprisoned. 
Six of the most obnoxious individuals he sent to 
the dungeons of Havana, where they were con- 
fined for a year. On the other hand, the French 
immigrants were received with open arms. To 
the Marquis of Maison Rouge he granted 210,000 
acres of land; to the Baron de Bastrop, 881,583 
acres ; and to Delassus, 10,000 acres, on the banks 
of the Ouachita. To every French settler he gave 
a hundred dollars, and the expenses of his re- 
moval were paid by the government. 

The liberal ideas so rife at that period had 
begun to spread among the slave population, and 
an insurrection broke out on the estate of Julian 
Poydras, the author of the poem of Galvez. It 
was discovered, however, in time to suppress it ; 
and fifty of these unhappy creatures w^ere hung 
on gibbets along the banks of the river from 
Pointe Coupee to New-Orleans. 

This severe measure calmed the fears of the 
colonists in regard to their domestic safety, w^hile 
a treaty concluded at this time with the United 
States dispelled all apprehensions of a foreign 
war. Spain conceded to the Republic the free 
navigation of the Mississippi, with a right of de- 
posite at New-Orleans for its produce and mer- 



TREATY WITH SPAIN. 165 

chandise, to continue for ten years. These con- 
ditions, however, seriously interfered with the de- 
signs of Carondelet, who continued to entertain 
the hope of being able to separate the Valley 
of the Ohio from the rest of the Union ; and he 
knew that when the people of that country once 
obtained, what was so indispensable to them, 
the free navigation of the river, there was no 
longer any prospect of their listening to his in- 
sidious proposals. The treaty also guarantied to 
the United States all the territory east of the Mis- 
sissippi, as far as the thirty-first degree of north 
latitude, including Natchez and its territory, with 
the Forts of Pannure, Walnut Hills, and Chick- 
asaw Bluff. These, however, Carondelet persist- 
ed in retaining, as a means of accomplishing his 
plans, though, by the terms of the treaty, they 
should have been given up to the troops of the 
United States. 

1796. — The inhabitants of Natchez being fa- 
vourably inclined to the Americans, formed 
themselves into a sort of neutral body politic, 
declaring themselves no longer subject to Spain, 
though they still governed themselves by her 
laws. The commandant at this post, Gayoso de 
Lemos, was not sufficiently powerful to prevent 
them from adopting this course ; and Carondelet 



166 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Was in the mean time waiting to receive an an- 
swer to some proposals he had made to General 
Wilkinson, commander-in-chief of the American 
army, before committing himself by any decisive 
step, when he was appointed to the presidency 
of the royal audience of Quito, and Gayoso took 
his place at New-Orleans. 

1797. — The latter soon received information 
from the emissaries of his predecessor, that Wil- 
kinson peremptorily refused to participate in his 
project, when the forts were immediately given 
up, and the Americans took possession of them. 

Notwithstanding the treaty of peace existing 
between Spain and England, these powers con- 
tinued to entertain no very amicable feelings to- 
wards each other, and, in fact, still carried on a 
sort of underhand war by mea^s of the Indians 
in Florida, whom each party endeavoured to 
draw over to their interests. An Englishman 
who had settled among the savages had acquired 
great influence over them, and this influence he 
was enabled, through the aids he received from 
England, to maintain. The Spanish govern- 
ment having offered a reward of five hundred 
dollars for the arrest of tiiis individual, he was 
taken and given up to Gayoso, who sent him to 
Havana. 



SPAIN VIOLATES THE TllEATY. 167 

1798. — The administration of Gayoso deLemos 
terminated this year ; and. it was well for Loui- 
siana that it was no longer, as he had shown 
himself but poorly qualified for his important 
station. Commerce, nevertheless, continued to 
flourish, and the United States sent a consul to 
New-Orleans. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Transfer of Louisiana to the United States. 

1800. — The treaty concluded between Spain 
and the United States in 1795, by which a right 
of deposite at New-Orleans was granted to the 
latter for ten years, had been frequently violated 
by the offices of the Spanish government, prob- 
ably in the hope that the states bordering on the 
Mississippi, to which the free navigation of this 
river became every day more important, growing 
impatient at the continued obstacles in the way 
of their commerce, would at last form a separate 
republic by themselves, which might easily be 
brought under the control of Spain. 

This, then, being the object to be effected, 
N 



168 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Casa Calvo, at this time governor of Loui- 
siana, had repeatedly infringed upon the rights 
of the Americans, without, however, produ- 
cing a sufficient sensation to answer his pur- 
pose; and no material change took place until 
1802, when Morales, who was then intendant of 
Louisiana, took the decisive step of closing the 
Mississippi entirely to the American trade. The 
Western States immediately took the alarm, and 
were resolved to take up arms in defence of their 
rights, if they could not secure them in any other 
way. Jefferson, who had been elected president 
the year before, undertook the management of 
the affair; and favourable circumstances combi- 
ning with his prudence and skill, he succeeded be- 
yond his most sanguine hopes, being enabled to 
mark his administration by an acquisition of the 
utmost importance to his country. 

1803. — By a secret article in the treaty of St. 
Ildefonso, concluded in 1800, Spain had agreed 
to restore Louisiana to France ; but Bonaparte 
had his reasons for not making this cession known 
until he should have (as he hoped to do) reduced 
St. Domingo to submission. His failure in this, 
however, rendered him more indifferent to his 
new acquisition; and it was not until ]803, m 
the month of January, that he sent out Laussat 



LOUISIANA RESTORED TO FRANCE. 169 

as prefect of the colony. General Victor, who 
had been appointed as governor, was soon to 
follow ; but circumstances occurred in the inter- 
im to prevent his departure. This was the first 
intimation that the Louisianians had of the in- 
tended transfer, and it was received by them 
with great satisfaction. The short time the Span- 
ish dominion lasted, had produced no change in 
the national feelings of the people : they were 
in their hearts still French, and happy to return 
to the rule of France ; and the arrival of Laussat 
was celebrated by public rejoicings. 

On being informed of this retrocession, the 
President had despatched instructions to Robert 
Livingston, the American minister at Paris, to 
represent to the First Consul that the occupation 
of New-Orleans by France would endanger the 
friendly relations between the two nations, and, 
perhaps, even oblige the United States to make 
common cause with England ; as the possession of 
this city by the former, by giving her the command 
of the Mississippi, the only outlet to the prod- 
uce of the Western States, and also of the Gulf 
of Mexico, so important to American commerce, 
would render it almost certain that the conflicting 
interests of the two nations would lead to an open 
rupture. Mr. Livingston was therefore instruct- 



170 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

ed not only to insist upon the free navigation of 
the Mississippi, but to negotiate for the acquisi- 
tion of New-Orleans itself and the surrounding 
territory ; and Mr. Monroe was appointed with 
full powers to assist him in the negotiation. 

To consent to this cession would be to sur- 
render a most important post, and render it ne- 
cessary to build a new capital ; while to refuse it 
would be to provoke a w^ar with the United 
States, and probably throw the whole country 
eventually either into their hands or those of 
the English. Bonaparte, who always decided 
promptly, soon came to the conclusion that what 
he could not defend he had better dispose of on the 
best terms he could ; and that, by increasing the 
territory of the United States, putting in their 
possession so important an inland navigation, and 
making a large addition to their seacoast, he could 
to a great extent counterbalance the maritime 
power of England, and gain perhaps an ally, 
instead of raising up an enemy, in the approach- 
ing contest. 

He determined, therefore, not only to cede 
New-Orleans, but the whole of Louisiana, to the 
United States. 

Before fully deciding, however, to part with 
the only territorial possession he had not acquired 



VIEWS OF BONAPARTE. 171 

by the sword, he resolved to take the advice of 
two of his ministers who had resided in that 
country, and one of whom, Barbe Marbois, was 
well acquainted with the colony, its resources, 
administration, &c. Accordingly, he summoned 
them to a conference on the 10th of April, 1803, 
and thus addressed them : 

" I am fully sensible of the value of Louisiana, 
and it was my wish to repair the error of the 
French diplomatists who abandoned it in 1763. 
I have scarcely recovered it before I run the risk 
of losing it ; but if I am obliged to give it up, it 
shall hereafter cost more to those who force me 
to part with it than to those to whom I yield it. 
The English have despoiled France of all her 
northern possessions in America, and now they 
covet those of the South. I am determined that 
they shall not have the Mississippi. Although 
Louisiana is but a trifle compared to their vast 
possessions in other parts of the globe, yet, judg- 
ing from the vexation they have manifested on 
seeing it return to the power of France, I am 
certain that their first object will be to gain pos- 
session of it. They will probably commence 
the war in that quarter. They have twenty ves- 
sels in the Gulf of Mexico, and our affairs in St. 
Domingo are daily fretting worse since the death 



172 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

of Le Clerc. The conquest of Louisiana might 
be easily made, and I have not a moment to lose 
in putting it out of their reach. I am not sure 
but what they have already begun an attack 
upon it. Such a measure would be in accord- 
ance Avith their habits ; and in their place I 
should not wait. I am inclined, in order to de- 
prive them of all prospect of ever possessing it, 
to cede it to the United States. Indeed, I can 
hardly say that I cede it, for I do not yet pos- 
sess it ; and if I w^ait but a short time, my ene- 
mies may leave me nothing but an empty title 
to grant to the Republic I wish to conciliate. 
They only ask for one city of Louisiana, but I 
consider the whole colony as lost ; and I believe 
that in the hands of this rising power it will be 
more useful to the political, and even the com- 
mercial interests of France, than if I should, 
attempt to retain it. Let me have both your 
opinions on the subject." 

One of the ministers, Barbe Marbois, fully ap- 
proved of the cession, but the other opposed it. 
They debated the matter for a long time, and 
Bonaparte concluded the conference without ma- 
king his determination known. The next day, 
however, he sent for Marbois, and said to him ; 

" The season lor deliberation is over : I have 



INSTRUCTIONS TO MARBOIS. 173 

determined to renounce Louisiana. I shall give 
up not only New-Orleans, but the whole colony, 
without reservation. That I do not undervalue 
Louisiana I have sufficiently proved, as the ob- 
ject of my first treaty with Spain was to recover 
it. But,, though I regret parting with it, I am 
convinced it would be a folly to persist in trying 
to keep it. I commission you, therefore, to ne- 
gotiate this affair with the envoys of the United 
States. Do not wait the arrival of Mr. Monroe, 
but go this very day and confer with Mr. Living- 
ston. Remember, however, that I need ample 
funds for carrying on the war, and I do not wish 
to commence it by levying new taxes. For the 
last century France and Spain have incurred 
great expenses in the improvement of Louisiana, 
for which her trade has never indemnified them. 
Large sums have been advanced to different com- 
panies, which have never returned to the treasu- 
ry. It is fair that I should require repayment for 
these. Were I to regulate my demands by the 
importance of this territory to the United States, 
they w^ould be unbounded ; but, being obliged to 
part with it, I shall be moderate in my terms. 
Still, remember, I must have fifty millions of. 
francs, and I will not consent to take less. I 



174 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

would rather make some desperate effort to pre- 
serve this fine country." 

The negotiations commenced that very day 
Mr. Monroe a rrived at Paris on the 12th of April^ 
and the two representatives of the United States, 
after holding a private conference, announced 
that they were ready to treat for the cession of 
the entire territory, which at first Mr. Living- 
ston had hesitated to do, believing the proposal 
of the First Consul to be only a device to gain 
time. 

On the 30th of April, 1803, the treaty was 
signed. The United States were to pay fifteen 
million dollars for their new acquisition, and be 
indemnified for some illegal captures ; while it 
was agreed that the vessels and merchandise of 
France and Spain should be admitted into all the 
ports of Louisiana free of duty for twelve years. 

Bonaparte stipulated in favour of Louisiana 
that it should as soon as possible be incorporated 
into the Union, and that its inhabitants should 
enjoy the same rights, privileges, and immunities 
as other citizens of the United States ; and the 
third article of the treaty, securing to them these 
benefits, was drawn up by the First Consul him- 
self, who presented it to the plenipotentiaries with 
these words; 



LOUISIANA CEDED TO UNITED STATES. 175 

" Make it known to the people of Louisiana 
that we regret to part with them ; that we have 
stipulated for all the advantages they could de- 
sire ; and that France, in giving them up, has en- 
sured to them the greatest of all. They could 
never have prospered under any European gov- 
ernment as they will when they become independ- 
ent. But, while they enjoy the privileges of 
liberty, let them ever remember that they are 
French, and preserve for their mother- country 
that affection which a common origin inspires." 

The completion of this important transaction 
gave equal satisfaction to both parties. " I con- 
sider," said Livingston^' that from this day the 
United States takes rank with the first powers of 
Europe, and now she has entirely escaped from 
the power of England ;" and Bonaparte express- 
ed a similar sentiment in these words: "By 
this cession of territory I have secured the power 
of the United States, and given to England a 
maritime rival, who at some future time will 
humble her pride." These words appeared pro- 
phetic when the troops of Britain, a few years 
after, met so signal an overthrow on the plains 
of Louisiana. 

The boundaries of the colony had never been 
clearly defined, and one of Bonaparte's minis- 
O 



176 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

ters drew his attention to this obscurity. " No 
matter," said he , " if there were no uncertainty,, 
it would, perhaps, be good poUcy to leave some ;" 
and, in fact, the Americans, interpreting to their 
own advantage this uncertainty, some few years 
after seized upon the extensive territory of Ba- 
ton Rouge, which was in dispute between them 
and the Spaniards. 

On the 30th of November, 1803, Laussat took 
possession of the country, when Casa Calvo and 
Salcedo, the Spanish commissioners, presented to 
him the keys of the city, oyer which the tri- 
coloured flag floated but for the short space of 
twenty days. The colony had been under the 
rule of Spain for a little more than thirty-four 
years. 

On the 20th of December in the same 3Tar, 
General Wilkinson and Claiborne, who were 
jointly commissioned to take possession of the 
country for the United States, made their entry 
into New-Orleans at the head of the American 
troops. Laussat gave up his command, and the 
star-spangled banner supplanted the tri-coloured 
flag of France. 



DIVISION OP LOUISIANA. 177 



CHAPTER XV. 

1 emtcfial Government of Louisiania.— Laws. 

1804. — The Louisianians were the party least 
►satisfied by this second transfer. Being almost 
all French, they rejoiced at being reunited to the 
country of their ancestors. No wonder, then, 
that their disappointment should have caused 
them to view their new brethren in an unfavour- 
able light. The rapid improvement, however, 
which took place after the union, served to rec- 
oncile them to the change, and made them con- 
sider Jefferson as their greatest benefactor. But, 
though united in their interests, the French and 
Americans continue, even to the present day, 
much estranged from each other in their social 
intercourse. 

By an act of Congress, Louisiana was divided 
into two unequal parts, the one being called th/2 
Territory of Orleans, and extending from the 
Gulf of Mexico to the thirty-third degree of 
north latitude, and the other, much more exten- 
sive, being annexed to the Territory of Missouri, 



178 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

The name of Louisiana was thus taken from th* 
country at large, soon to be restored to its most 
important section. 

A territorial government was organized, con- 
sisting of a governor (Claiborne being appointed 
to that office for three years), of a legislative 
council composed of thirteen freeholders, and of 
a superior court with three judges, one alone 
being competent to give a decision. The Presi- 
dent appointed to the legislative council six 
members of French descent and seven Americans; 
but as some of them declined, and the governor 
filled their places with Americans, the numbei 
of French was reduced to five ; a small propor- 
tion for a population of which scarcely a sixth 
part could speak English. The introduction of 
slaves was prohibited, excepting those belonging 
to Americans who might come to settle there. 
These measures increased the dissatisfaction of 
the inhabitants, who were before but little incli- 
ned to be contented with the new government. 
They consulted together, called meetings, and 
chose commissioners to lay their grievances be- 
fore Congress. They complained of the appoint- 
ment of a governor who was a stranger to theii 
laws, customs, and language, and from whom 
they could, consequently, expect but little im- 



COMPLAINTS OF THE LOUISIANIANS. 1 79 

partiality ; of the introduction of the Enghsh 
language into their courts of law, and, by the in- 
lerference of Claiborne, even into the legislative 
council; of the jurisdiction, without appeal, of the 
governor, who did not even consult the council 
before giving sentence ; of too nouch power being 
granted to a single judge in the Supreme Court ; 
of the inhabitants not being allowed to import 
negroes ; and, more than all, of the partition of 
Louisiana, so that it would be long before they 
could expect to be admitted into the Union. 

1804. — They demanded three things of Con- 
gress: In the first place, the nomination of a 
governor from two candidates of their own 
choice; secondly, a change in the jurisdiction 
exercised by the judges of the Supreme Court ; 
and, thirdly, that a free importation of negroes 
should be allowed to the inhabitants. Congress, 
however, did not think proper to accede to their 
requests, and only consented to make some slight 
modifications in the form of the territorial gov- 
ernment. 

The scarcity of specie, which could no longer 
be imported from Mexico, greatly embarrassed 
the business of the country. Claiborne there- 
fore did all that was in his power to encourage 
the establishment of the Bank of Louisiana, 



180 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

which he believed to be the only remedy for ex» 
isting evils. In this he succeeded; but at its 
commencement the institution was paralyzed by 
the mistrust entertained in regard to it, the in- 
habitants having been already twice deceived by 
a paper system, once under the French, and once 
under the Spanish government. The Spanish au- 
thorities had issued a great number of treasury 
bills, liheranzas, that they seemed in no haste to 
redeem. The Louisianians also looked with an 
evil eye on the organization of companies of 
volunteers, recommended and upheld by the gov- 
ernor. Everything, in short, belonging to the 
United States seemed to meet with their disap- 
probation. 

The Legislative Council divided the territory 
into twelve counties, each provided with an m- 
ferior court", at which a single judge should pre- 
side. New-Orleans was made a city; and a 
University, a library, and several insurance com- 
panies were established. The first Bank of the 
United States located one of its branches here. 

1805. — The new government, after being re- 
modelled by Congress in consequence of the re- 
monstrances of the Louisianians, was thus com- 
posed ; of a governor, who was to hold his office 
for three years, and a secretary of state for four. 



TENAL LAWS. 181 

both to be appointed by the President, subject to 
the approval of the Senate ; of a legislative coun- 
cil that were to retain their places for the term 
of five years, to consist of five members, to be 
chosen by the President from the candidates pre- 
sented by the House of Representatives of the ter- 
ritory ; and of a House of Representatives, whose 
members, twenty-five in number, were to be 
elected for two years by the people. 

Different penal laws had already been enacted 
by the Legislative Council. Thus murder was 
made punishable with death, and rape, unnatural 
crime, and burning of houses or public buildings, 
by imprisonment for life. The pillory, flogging, 
and hard labour for a limited time were the pun- 
ishments decreed for robbery, either with or with- 
out housebreaking ; and all accomplices in these 
crimes were to be subject to the same punish- 
ment as the principals, while accessories after 
the fact were punishable by fine and flogging. 
For stealing a slave, a horse, or a mule, the cul- 
prit was to be punished by flogging, and hard 
labour for a limited period. Those guilty of 
petty larceny, and also their accomplices, were 
to be sentenced to flogging, and required to re- 
store the property stolen, or double its amount ; 
and, in default of this, to be imprisoned for two 



182 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

years at least, at hard labour. Stealing bank- 
bills, lottery-tickets, or similar effects, was 
made subject to the same penalty ; and who- 
ever should conceal a person guilty of these 
crimes, rendered himself liable to fine and im- 
prisonment. The receiver of stolen goods was 
punishable by fine and imprisonment, and re- 
quired to make restitution of the same, or pay 
double their value ; and in default of either, to 
be condemned to one year of hard labour. Any 
person setting fire to a building not used as a 
dwelling, or which did not join to a dwelling- 
house, was to pay all damages incurred, and be 
sentenced to hard labour for a limited time. 
Coiners and their accomplices were liable to the 
same penalty ; but any one guilty of forgery was 
to be condemned to hard labour for life. 

Persons committing perjury, and all who 
should be accessory to it, were punishable by 
hard labour for a term of years, and by being 
placed for two hours in the pillory once in each 
year during their detention ; besides which^ they 
were declared incapable of giving testimony un- 
til this disqualification was removed by a court 
of justice. Any one abstracting or falsifying a 
legal instrument, with a design to interrupt the 
course of justice, or signing a bond in the name 



PENAL LAWS. IbJ 

of another and without his knowledge, was liable 
to a fine of 3000 dollars, and to be condemned to 
hard labour for a limited period. Persons con- 
victed of altering or falsifying any public docu- 
ment, either the original or a registered copy, 
might be sentenced to pay a fine of 2000 dol- 
lars, and to confinement at hard labour for two 
years -, and, farther, were to be declared incapa- 
ble of discharging any public function. Swin- 
dling was to be punished by flogging and hard 
labour; bigamy by a fine not exceeding 500 
dollars, and imprisonment for a term not exceed- 
ing two years ; and manslaughter by hard labour 
for one year, and a fine of 500 dollars. 

Whoever in a quarrel should deprive another 
of nose, tongue, eye, or ear, might be made to pay 
a fine of 1000 dollars, and be sentenced to seven 
years of hard labour, and their accomplices or 
mstigators were liable to the same punishment. 
Any one firing at another with the intent of 
kilHng, robbing, or maiming, was liable to hard 
labour for a term of years, and obliged to give 
bail for his good behaviour for one year after. 
Duellists, their accomplices, seconds, or instiga- 
tors, were punishable by a fine not exceeding 500 
dollars, and imprisonment for not more than two 
years. Any person, by procuring the escape of 



184 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

a criminal under sentence of death, incurred the 
penalty of four years' hard labour. Whoever 
should strike or wound an officer in the exercise 
of his functions, was subject to be imprisoned for 
six months, and to pay a fine not exceeding 200 
dollars. Any one breaking out of prison, de- 
manding a reward for informing of theft, agree- 
ing to compound for a capital crime, or mali- 
ciously accusing an innocent person, was punish- 
able by fine and imprisonment at the discretion 
of the court ; and any person bribing a judge or 
public officer, and any judge or public officer 
receiving a bribe, or who should be guilty of 
oppression or extortion in the exercise of their 
functions, were liable to be punished in the same 
manner ; as were also persons exciting riots, 
breaking down a levee, defaming another, ma- 
king use of abusive language, or committing an 
act of assault and battery which did not result in 
maiming. 

The accused might claim the right to be judged 
by his peers, to be defended by counsel, to bring 
any proof necessary to establish his innocence, 
and to be allowed to challenge twelve jurymen. 
No one could be tried for any offence (capital 
crimes excepted) unless an indictment against 
him had been previously found by the grand jury 



BANK AND INSURANCE CHARTERS. 185 

No crime whatever was to be punished by con- 
fiscation of property. 

The council granted two perpetual charters : 
one to the Insurance Company of New-Orleans, 
with a capital of 200,000 dollars, and the other 
to the Company of Navigation, which in 1835 
proposed to dig a canal through Canal-street,, one 
of the finest streets in the city : its capital is 
200,000 dollars. This company has improved 
the navigation of the Bayou St. Jean and the 
Canal of Carondelet, on which it collects a toll, 
and which was originally made by the Spanish 
governor whose name it bears. 

1806. — The session of the first territorial Le- 
gislature was prolonged to more than five months. 
It appointed a court for each parish, the presi- 
ding judge to be, ex-ofiScio, judge of the Court 
of Probate, notary, auctioneer, justice of peace, 
sheriff, and recorder. 

The Black Code, as it is called, the law against 
vagabonds, and those relative to apprentices and 
the sale of spirituous liquors, were enacted at this 
session. 

It was forbidden to sell intoxicating liquors to 
slaves without the consent of their masters, or 
to soldiers of the United States army without per- 
mission of their officers, under the penalty of a 



186 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

fine and loss of license ; or to the savages, un- 
der the penalty of a fine of 200 dollars, half to 
go to the State and half to the informer. 

The apprentice law provided that no one 
should engage himself as a servant or apprentice 
without the consent of his parents or guardians, 
or, in default of these, of the mayor or the judge 
of the place where he resided, unless he had at- 
tained the age of twenty-one. No minor might 
engage himself beyond his minority, nor any one 
for more than seven years. It was declared that 
a master or mistress had no right to maltreat an 
apprentice, and that they were bound to give 
their apprentices a suitable elementary education. 

The law relating to vagabonds defined those 
to be such who, being able to work, lived in 
idleness, without any settled habitation; those, 
also, who frequented drinking or gaming houses, 
and refused to give an account of their means of 
living, or could not bring credible witnesses to 
testify to their character. Vagabonds were re- 
quired to give such bonds for their good beha- 
viour as the judge might think proper, and, fail- 
ing to do so, they were Hable to one month's im- 
prisonment at hard labour. Any one found wan- 
dering about at night, sleeping in drinking-houses 
or other disreputable places, or in the open air, 



BLACK CODE. 187 

and who could not give an account of himself, 
or Avho carried about him arms or sharp instru- 
ments, such as might enable him to take life or 
break into houses, was to be treated as a suspi- 
cious character, and liable to be punished by hard 
labour for a limited time. Female vagabonds 
were to be punished in the same manner ; and 
any one harbouring a vagabond w^as liable to a 
fine not exceeding 500 dollars. 

All beggars were to be considered vagabonds 
unless furnished wdth a permit from two justices 
of the peace to solicit alms in consequence of 
their infirmities. 

The Black Code secured to slaves the free en- 
joyment of Sunday, except that their masters 
might oblige them to work on that day by giv- 
ing them four shillings. This regulation does 
not include house servants, postillions, attendants 
in hospitals, and those who carry vegetables to 
market. 

It provided that each slave should have a bar- 
rel of corn per month, a pint of salt, a shirt and 
a pair of cotton pantaloons for the summer, a 
flannel shirt, a pair of w^oollen pantaloons, and 
a cap for winter, and a piece of ground to culti- 
vate. The infirm, aged, and blind were required 
to be clothed, fed, and taken care of at the ex- 



188 HISTORY OF LOUIS. iNA. 

pense of their master, under a penalty of twen- 
ty-five dollars for every neglect so to do. 

The master could not rid himself of the board 
of his slave by allowing him a day to work for 
himself. 

Slaves were to be allowed half an hour for 
their breakfast, and two hours for their dinner. 

Children under the age of ten years were not 
allowed to be sold without their mother. 

A master was not permitted to hire his slaves 
to themselves, under the penalty of a fine of 
twenty-five dollars. 

Slaves could not possess anything, sell any- 
thing, carry arms, or hunt, without the permission 
of their master ; nor were they suffered to be par- 
ties or witnesses either in civil or criminal cases. 

Masters were declared bound to pay for any- 
thing stolen by their slaves, unless they were ma- 
roons, and proved to be such. 

A slave found on horseback without the per- 
mission of his master, might be stopped, punish- 
ed with twenty-five lashes, and sent back to his 
master, who was required to pav a shilling a 
mile for bringing him home. 

Any absconding slave not claimed by his mas- 
ter within two years from the first advertisement 
of him, might be sold by the sheriff of the parish, 



BLACK CODE. lH 

and the money was to be paid into the treasury 
of the State. 

No one could give a permit to a slave who did 
not belong to him, under the penalty of a fine of 
fifty dollars. 

No person might strike a slave engaged in his 
master's service, under the penalty of a fine of 
ten dollars. 

Nevertheless, any person finding a slave at a 
distance from his master's plantation might stop 
him, and punish, or even kill him, in case he re- 
sisted or struck him. 

Any one wounding a slave was bound to pay 
the master two dollars for each day's labour lost 
by the disabled slave. If he was maimed for 
life, the aggressor was obliged to pay the master 
his full value, and to maintain him for the rest of 
his days. 

It was allowed, however, to fire upon a ma- 
roon slave, and also upon one who should refuse 
to stop when summoned to do so. 

If an individual should be wounded by a ma- 
roon slave while endeavouring to seize him, he 
was to be indemnified by the State ; and if he was 
killed, his heirs were entitled to such indemnity. 

The owner of a maroon slave might seek for 
him, or cause him to be sought for by white 



190 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

people, even in the camps of other planters, and 
without their permission, except in houses and 
other places having locks. 

A master who ill-treated his slaves, or refused 
them necessary food and clothing, might be pros- 
ecuted, on the information of one or more per- 
sons, before a justice of the peace, and condemn- 
ed to pay a fine of twenty-five dollars for every 
such offence. The judge might at the same time 
issue such orders as he thought proper for the 
relief of such slaves ; but the master so arraign- 
ed was allowed to exculpate himself by his oath, 
unless positive proof was brought against him. 

Free people of colour who were wanting in 
respect towards white people, who assumed equal- 
ity with them, or who insulted or struck them, 
were to be punished by imprisonment, according 
to the offence. 

It was required that a slave accused of crime 
should be tried within three days after his arrest, 
by a tribunal composed of three or five freehold- 
ers, neither the owner of such slave, nor any per- 
son related to him within the fourth degree, being 
allowed to be one of them. Either the judge ot 
the parish or a justice of peace was to preside 
at such trial. The judge and two planters might 
pronounce sentence of death against a slave, or 



BLACK CODE. 191 

even against a free man of colour, though he had 
a right to trial by jury in the ordinary courts of 
law. 

Any Indian or man of colour, whether a slave 
or free^ was punishable with death for setting fire 
to a dwelling-house or other building, or to a 
stack of grain ; for poisoning or killing, and for 
violating a white woman. 

Any Indian or free man of colour who should 
carry off a slave, was to be sentenced to two 
years hard labour, and to pay the value of such 
slave ; and in default of the latter, the punish- 
ment was to be doubled. 

A slave intentionally wounding his master or 
mistress, or their children, was punishable with 
death. 

If a slave should strike, or induce another to 
strike, an overseer, whether the latter were free 
or a slave, he might be punished with twenty- 
five lashes ; and if blood were shed, the punish- 
ment might be doubled; or if death should follow, 
he was to be hung ; and the same punishment 
was to be inflicted on a slave for rebellion or 
exciting an insurrection. 

For any slave condemned to death, the master 
was to receive an indemnity of 500 dollars from 
the State. This sum was reduced to 300 dollars 
^a 1813. P 



192 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

If a master should contrive the escape of his 
slave, or that of any other person, when arraigned 
for crime, he was liable to a fine of 200 dollars ; 
or if the crime were capital, it might be increased 
to 1000 dollars. 

A slave found guilty of striking a white per- 
son for the third time was punishable with death. 

Any master who should, with malice prepense, 
kill either his own slave or the slave of another, 
was to be tried and punished according to the 
laws of the territory. 

A master punishing his slaves with barbarity 
was liable to a fine of from 200 to 300 dollars. 

Any master in whose possession a slave should 
be found mutilated or injured by ill-treatment, 
was declared to be responsible for the crime, un- 
less he could clear himself by the testimony of 
credible witnesses, or took an oath that he was 
not guilty before a competent court. 

No one might leave his plantation in charge 
of a slave, under the penalty of 50 dollars. 

A slave detecting a plot or insurrection, and 
giving information of it, was to be rewarded with 
freedom. 

Various other laws were enacted during the 
continuance of the territorial government. 

Slaves imported from a foreign country into 



BLACK CODE. 193 

Louisiana were to be sold for the benefit of the 
State ; and if any such slave had been guilty of 
a capital crime in the country from which he 
had been brought, he was to be sentenced to 
hard labour for life ; persons importing a negro 
convict being liable to a fine of a thousand dollars. 
Any person purchasing a slave, and afterward 
discovering that he had been convicted of crime 
in another country, might maintain an action for 
damages against the seller. 

Any one conceahng a slave and making him 
labour, was liable to pay two dollars for every 
day such slave was kept from his master. 

No slave was allowed to be set at liberty un- 
der thirty years of age ; nor then, unless he had 
behaved well, and had neither been guilty of 
marooning, theft, nor any other crime during the 
four years preceding his emancipation. These 
requirements were, however, to be dispensed 
with if he had saved the life of his master or 
mistress, or any of their children. A slave be- 
longing to a minor could not be freed under 
a penalty of 100 dollars, for which the judge 
sanctioning the sale was liable, as well as the 
seller. 

In all cases of illness, infirmity, old age, or lu- 
nacy, masters were bound to support their slaves. 



194 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

The declaration of the master giving freedom 
to his slave was required to be made before the 
judge of the parish. 

Marriage was declared to be a civil contract 
to endure for life, but capable of being dissolved 
by due course of law. 

No marriage was to be considered valid un- 
less both parties had freely consented to it ; and 
free people were not allowed to marry slaves. 

The parents of children marrying without their 
consent might sue both the judge who gave the 
license and the priest who solemnized the mar- 
riage for damages, and disinherit their children 
so offending. 

No person authorized to marry was allowed 
to perform the ceremony until the parties pro- 
duced a license from the judge of the parish, 
under the penalty of a fine of 5000 dollars, and 
imprisonment for two years, at the discretion of 
the court. 

Priests of any religious denomination, or a 
justice of the peace, were authorized to solem- 
nize marriages where licenses in due form were 
produced. 

Quakers and Menonites were permitted to cel- 
ebrate marriages among themselves, according to 
the rites of their respective religions. 



LAWS RESPECTING HUSBANDS AND WIVES. 195 

Husbands and wives, it was declared, owed 
mutual help and fidelity to each other. It was 
the duty of the wife to follow her husband, who 
Avas bound, in proportion to his means, to sup- 
ply her reasonable wants. Wives holding prop- 
erty separate from their husbands could not 
alienate or mortgage it without the consent of 
the latter, though such consent might be super- 
seded by an authorization from the judge. 

Husbands and wives were declared bound by 
their marriage contract to maintain and educate 
their children; while it was no less incumbent 
upon children to maintain their father and mother, 
and their grandparents, should they stand in 
need of it; and sons-in-law and daughters-in- 
law were under obligation in the same way to 
support their fathers and mothers in law. 

Any lawyer who should instigate a person to 
commence a suit, or enter into any agreement by 
which he was to receive a part of the property 
in dispute, was declared incompetent to practise 
in any court of the territory. A lawyer suffering 
a cause to be lost through his absence or neg- 
ligence was liable to pay the costs of suit, as 
well as the damages sustained by his client; and 
where any lawyer was guilty of retaining money 
received for his client, his name was directed to 



196 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

be erased Jrom the list of attorneys authorized 
to practise. 

Lawyers' fees were fixed at sixteen dollars for 
a suit begun and carried through in the superior 
courts, and at five dollars in the parish courts. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Spain. — Conspiracy of Burr.— General Wilkinson.— Refugees 
from Cuba. — Taking of Baton Rouge. — Louisiana made a 
State.— Constitution. — Steamboats 

1806. — The boundaries of Louisiana having 
been left by the treaty of cession vaguely defined, 
this circumstance almost necessarily led to difli- 
culties between the United States and Spain. 
The inhabitants of Mexico, jealous of the occu- 
pation of the Mississippi by the Americans, were 
inclined to dispute their territorial claims by force, 
and even advanced as far as Natchitoches, when 
General Wilkinson was sent with a body of troops 
to repel them. He was encamped near the Sa- 
bine, and on the point of engaging the Spaniards 
under Cordero and Herrera, when he received in- 
formation of a movement making against New- 



CHARACTER AND PLANS OF BURR, 197 

Orleans. He immediately concluded a treaty, 
therefore, with the Spanish commanders, fixing 
the Sabine River as the boundary between the 
two nations, and hastily repaired to that city. 

He found the place in the greatest consterna- 
tion. It was stated that Burr was on the point 
of attacking it; that he had drawn seven or 
eight thousand of the inhabitants of the Valley 
of the Ohio into the enterprise — all desperate 
characters, who had nothing to lose, and every- 
thing to gain by such an attempt ; and that their 
intention w- as to seize the city, possess themselves 
of the banks, and effect a separation between the 
Western and Atlantic States ; or, in case of fail- 
ure, to fall back upon Mexico, where Burr had 
already a powerful party, and proclaim its inde- 
pendence. It was added that an English fleet, 
now in the West Indian seas, was to co-operate 
in the attack. 

Such, probably, were the real objects of Burr; 
but he was too shrewd a diplomatist to expose 
himself to any legal proof. He had, no doubt, 
been secretly organizing his plans ever since his 
political disappointments in New- York. In 1801 
he had been a competitor with Jefferson for the 
presidency. The electoral votes being equal, the 
choice devolved upon the House of Representa- 



<98 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

fives ; and after thirty ballotings, Jefferson was 
elected. Burr concealed his vexation, and, ap- 
parently with good grace, accepted the vice- 
presidency. In 1804 he was a candidate for the 
office of governor in the State of New-York, when 
Hamilton, considering him a political intriguer, 
opposed his election, which he lost. He shortly 
after sought a quarrel with Hamilton : a duel 
took place, and the latter was killed. But the 
removal of his great pohtical antagonist proved of 
no advantage to him. On the contrary, so strong 
was the excitement produced by this melancholy 
event, that he felt himself obliged to withdraw 
from public notice. 

He was not idle, however. To great ambi- 
tion and indefatigable perseverance in his designs, 
he united an insinuating address that gained him 
many partisans. He had retired to an island in 
the Ohio, occupied by a Mr. Blennerhasset, and 
there ct>mmenced preparations, ostensibly for ma- 
king a settlement on the Washita, in the patent 
of the Baron de Bastrop. He was purchasing 
and building boats, and engaging men to accom- 
pany him down the Ohio ; but there were sus- 
picious appearances attending his preparations, 
of which the government were informed, and he 
was narrowly watched. On his arrival at New- 



WILKINSON AT NEW-ORLEANS. 199 

Orleans, Wilkinson demanded that an armed 
force should be raised, which the authorities re- 
fused to do. He then applied to the Supreme 
Court to order the arrest of Bollman, the agent 
of Burr, and to issue a proclamation against Burr 
himself. This they also declined doing, but al- 
lowed him to proceed according to military law. 
He thereupon iturnediately imprisoned Bollman^ 
Swartwout, Ogden, and Alexander, supposed to 
be accomplices of Burr, and refused to deliver 
them up on a writ granted by Judge Workman. 
Irritated at this refusal, Workman induced Ed- 
ward Livingston to unite with him in a request 
to Claiborne to arrest Wilkinson himself, which, 
however, he did not think fit to do. 

At this moment. General Adair arriving from 
Tennessee, where he had left Burr, w^as arrested 
by an aiddecamp of General Wilkinson, at the 
head of a detachment of one hundred men ; and 
W^orkman was also arrested at the same time. 
The District Court of the United States obtained 
his release, but he immediately gave in his res- 
ignation. 

1807. — Meanwhile Burr was on his way to 
New-Orleans; but he was stopped at Natchez, 
and cited to appear before the Supreme Court of 
the Mississippi Territory. He had carried on his 



200 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

designs, however, so secretly, that there was no 
evidence sufficient to convict him, and he was 
discharged. Still, hearing that different persons 
had been arrested at New-Orleans and elsewhere 
on suspicion of being concerned with him, and 
that a reward had been offered in that city for 
his apprehension, he fled from Natchez, and was 
finally taken on the Tombeckbee, and sent a 
prisoner to Richmond. Here he was tried before 
Chief-justice Marshall upon two indictments, one 
charging him with treason against the United 
States, the other with meditating an attack upon 
the possessions of Spain, a nation with which 
the United States were at peace. For want of 
evidence, how^ever, he was acquitted of both 
charges, though he was universally believed to 
be guilty ; but his career as a politician was at 
an end. He embarked for Europe, and, return- 
ing to New-York several years after, spent the 
remainder of his life in obscurity. 

Wilkinson, notwithstanding his activity in ar- 
resting the agents of Burr, did not escape the 
suspicion of being himself concerned in the con- 
spiracy, and of receiving pay from Spain. He 
was brought to trial, and several witnesses 
appeared against hirn, among whom was Mr 
Clark, the delegate to Congress from the Ter- 



SECOND TRIAL OF WILKINSON. 201 

ntory of Orleans ; but nothing was proved against 
him. 

1809. — The misunderstanding that had so 
long existed between England and the United 
States was becoming more serious, and every- 
thing seemed now to indicate an approaching 
war. British troops in considerable numbers 
had been sent over; and the President appre- 
hending, in case of a rupture, that their first 
efforts would be directed against New-Orleans, 
resolved to form a camp in that vicinity. 

Wilkinson, to whom the movement was in- 
trusted, occupied a position with seven hundred 
men at the Green Oaks, at the head of the road 
of Terre-aux-Boeufs, on the bank of the river, 
elevei: miles below New-Orleans ; but the heat 
of the weather and change of food, combined, 
probably, with the unhealthiness of the situation^ 
produced diseases which soon carried off nearly 
half their number. Wilkinson's enemies blamed 
him for this disaster; and accusations of being 
an accomplice of Burr, and in secret correspond- 
ence with li^pain, were revived : he was brought 
before a court-martial, tried, and again acquitted. 

The population of Louisiana was this year in- 
creased by the arrival of 5797 French colonists, 
who had settled in Cuba on being driven from 



202 HISTORY Ok^ LOUISIANA. 

St. Domingo, but were now obliged to leave it ir^ 
consequence of the war between France and 
Spain. Twice banished in less than eight years, 
these unfortunate exiles came to find another 
home in Louisiana. The unfeeling Spaniards 
had allowed them only twenty-four hours to pre- 
pare for quitting the island. Destitute of every 
comfort, they were crowded into a few small 
schooners, and the defenceless fleet on their way 
fell in with a British frigate. But their enemies 
were too generous to take advantage of their 
miserable condition, and suffered them to pass 
unmolested. The reception they met with in 
Louisiana showed that their kindness to the citi- 
zens of New-Orleans more than twenty years 
before had not been forgotten. They brought 
with them their slaves, the only resource now 
left them. Claiborne, under these circumstances, 
ventured to disregard the law forbidding their in- 
troduction, and Congress approved his conduct. 
1810.— Notwithstanding the treaty of St. II- 
defonso, Spain yet retained possession of some 
parts of Louisiana. The town and district of 
Baton Rouge, and the country of Mobile, had not 
yet been given up. The inhabitants of the former 
territory, almost all Americans, becoming impa- 
tient at the slow progress of diplomacy, and be- 



OCCUPATION OF BATON ROUGE. 203 

lieving that Spain, occupied with her European 
enemies, would make but little opposition, sudden- 
ly attacked the fort at Baton Rouge, and got pos- 
session of it without any effusion of blood. Soon 
after they assembled a convention at St. Fran- 
cisville, proclaimed their independence, drew up 
a constitution, and chose government officers. 

On receiving intelligence of this movement, 
Madison commissioned Claiborne to take posses- 
sion of the territory in the name of the United 
States. This he lost no time in doing, and hoist- 
ed the national flag at St. Francisville and Baton 
Rouge, to the great joy of the inhabitants. This 
district now forms the Floridian parishes of Loui- 
siana. 

Shortly afterward, the negroes on a plantation 
near the parish of St. Jean Baptiste having in- 
stigated the blacks on the neighbouring planta- 
tions to revolt, they all rose at the same time, 
and, mustering five hundred men, marched to the 
attack of New-Orleans with drums beating and 
colours flying. They were encountered by a 
man of the name of Trepaguier, who kept them 
at bay for some time, when he was joined by a 
few other planters, and this handful of men rout- 
ed and put them to flight before the militia could 
come to their assistance. Two or three houses 



204 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA 

were set on fire by them before they were sub- 
dued. Sixteen of the ringleaders were detected 
and hung, and their heads displayed on high 
poles at regular distances along the river. 

To supply the want of specie experienced at 
this time, the Legislature established two banks. 
That of Orleans, wiih a capital of 500,000 dol- 
lars, and the Planters' Bank, with one of 600,000 
dollars : their charters were to continue for fif- 
teen years. That of the first was renewed in 
1823, to expire in 1847; the last-named bank 
failed, and is extinct. 

Public houses were now placed under the su- 
pervision of the police ; games of chance were 
prohibited: and any one keeping a gambling- 
house was liable to a fine not exceeding 1000 
dollars, or in default of payment was to be im- 
prisoned for a term not longer than six months. 

1811. — An act of Congress, bearing date the 
11th of February of this year, raised the Territory 
of Orleans to the rank of a State, and restored 
to it the name of Louisiana. It was now em- 
powered to form a constitution on the model of 
that of the United States. The right of habeas 
corpus was guarantied to the citizens, and that 
of being judged by a jury of their peers. The 
French lano[uae;e was to be no loncjer used in 



CONSTITUTION OF LOUISIANA. 205 

public acts, and the United States were to have 
exclusive possession of all unoccupied lands, 
which were to be exempted from taxes and all 
other claims. In a short time a State Constitu- 
tion was agreed upon by forty-one delegates of 
the people assembled in convention. 

The government was divided by the new Con- 
stitution into three departments : the executive, 
legislative, and judiciary. 

The executive power was confided to an offi- 
cer with the title of governor, who must have at- 
tained his thirty-fifth year, and was to be elected 
for four years, but was not to be eligible for 
two terms in succession. He was to be nomina- 
ted by the people, and elected by the Legislative 
Assembly; to be commander-in-chief of the mi- 
litia, army, and navy of the State, but not during 
war, except he should be at such time specially 
authorized by the Legislative Assembly to assume 
the command. He was to appoint, with the ad- 
vice and consent of the Senate, to all state offices. 
He might call an extra session of the General 
Assembly, and was to have a veto on the acts oi 
this body, which were required to be approved 
by him before they could become laws. He was 
bound to support the laws of the State and of 
the United States, and to attend to the organiza- 



206 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

tion and discipline of the militia. Power was 
given him to remit fines and confiscations, and to 
grant reprieves, and even pardons to persons con- 
victed of crimes, with the consent of the Senate. 
In case of misconduct he might be arraigned be- 
fore the Senate by an act of impeachment, and 
removed from his office by a vote of two thirds 
of the members present. 

The legislative power was divided into two 
j)ranches : the Senate, and the House of Repre- 
sentatives ; and these two bodies constituted the 
General Assembly. 

The senators were to be elected for four years, 
one from each senatorial district ; and every two 
years a new election was to be made of half the 
members. No person could be eligible to the 
office of senator unless he was twenty-seven 
years of age, and possessed of property to the 
value of a thousand dollars in the district where 
he was nominated. He must also have resided 
in such district for one year, and four years in 
the State previous to his nomination. 

The representatives were to be elected for two 
years, and their whole number could not exceed 
fifty. The representation was to be equally dis- 
tributed according to the number of electors. A 
representative could not be under the age of 



GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 207 

twenty-one years, and was required to be pos- 
sessed of real estate worth 500 dollars. To be 
eligible to this station, he must have resided in 
the State two years previous to his election, and 
one year in the parish from which he should be 
sent. Half the representatives were to be chan- 
ged every year. 

The members of the General Assembly were to 
receive a salary of four dollars per diem : their 
persons were declared to be inviolable during 
the sitting of the Legislature, and they were not 
answerable for the opinions or speeches delivered 
by them in debate. But they were declared to 
be ineligible to any lucrative office in the State 
while members of the Assembly, and for one year 
after, excepting such offices as were filled direct- 
ly by the vote of the people. 

No priest, or minister of any rehgious society 
or sect, could be elected to a seat in the General 
Assembly, or to any lucrative or responsible pub- 
lic office in the State ; nor any collector of State 
taxes, unless he had first settled all his accounts. 

To become a law, a bill was required to be 
read three times in each house of the General 
Assembly, each reading to be on a different day, 
unless four fifths of either house should dispense 

with the regulation. After passing through these 

O 



208 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

forms it was to be submitted to the governor for 
his approval ; and should he put his veto upon it, 
it might still be reconsidered by the two houses 
separately, and, if adopted by a majority of two 
thirds of each house, was to have the force of a 
law without the executive sanction. 

The judiciary power was to consist of a Su- 
preme Court and inferior courts. The Supreme 
Court was to be composed either of three or five 
judges. It was to be a court of appeal in all 
civil cases w^here the property in dispute was 
worth more than 300 dollars. Its sessions were 
to be held at New-Orleans for the Western, and 
Opelousas for the Eastern District. The judges 
were to have a salary of 5000 dollars, and could 
not be removed except for misconduct, on the 
petition of three fourths of the members of both 
Houses of the Legislature. The same rule was 
applied to judges of the inferior courts, who were 
required to watch over the maintenance of good 
order in the State. 

1812.— Congress sanctioned the Constitution 
adopted by the convention, and annexed to Loui- 
siana the territory to the north of the River Iber- 
ville as far as Pearl River, in the thirty-first de- 
gree of latitude. This territory had not been in- 
cluded in the limits described by the convention, 



FIRST STEAMBOAT AT NEW-ORLEANS. 209 

and had, consequently, sent no delegates. By the 
decision of the convention, the Upper House was 
to consist of fourteen senators, or one for each sen- 
atorial district ; but the annexation of this addi- 
tional territory gave three new members, who, 
notwithstanding that decision, took their seats in 
the Senate. 

Just after the adoption of the Constitution, the 
first steamboat seen on the Mississippi made her 
appearance at New-Orleans, as if to do honour 
to the new State. She had come from Pittsburg 
in seven days. The sight was then so extraordi- 
nary as to excite a great sensation; but now, 
in 1840, more than six hundred steamboats are 
continually passing on the waters of that river 
and its tributaries. 

Louisiana has derived more important advan- 
tages from the use of steam than any other state 
in the Union, and should be doubly grateful to 
Fulton for his invention, or, rather, for his suc- 
cessful application of steam to the purposes of 
navigation: an experiment which had, indeed, 
been before tried, but which he was the first to 
bring to perfection. In this undertaking he was 
assisted by Robert Livingston, while residing in 
France as our minister to that country ; and his 
first essay "was made on the Seine, at Paris, in 



210 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

1803, with a small copper-bottomed boat. His 
next attempt was made on the Hudson, in 1807, 
and he and Livingston obtained an exclusive right 
to navigate the waters of the State of New- 
York by steam-vessels for eighteen years. But 
Fulton failed to enrich himself by this great dis- 
covery ; and his country has not yet remunerated 
his family for the immense benefits he conferred 
upon her. 

From the nature of the soil in Louisiana, be- 
ing for the most part alluvial, and unfit for good 
roads, and the numerous water-courses intersect- 
ing the entire state, and particularly the lower 
part of it, the use of steamboats is particularly 
important. Before their introduction a vessel 
was frequently from forty to eighty, and some- 
times even a hundred, days in getting up to New- 
Orleans from the mouth of the river ; whereas, at 
present, they are towed up by steamers in eigh- 
teen hours. As to the passage from New-Orleans 
to Pittsburg, nobody pretended to fix any given 
time for its accomplishment ; but now it is made 
with certainty in ten or twelve days. In passing 
up the Mississippi in a steamboat, a very peculiar 
and striking scene is presented to the eye of the 
traveller, though its character is gloomy and mo- 
notonous as far as the mouth of the Ohio j no- 



SCENERY ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 211 

thing is visible beyond the alluvial strip that bor- 
ders the river except a line of dense forest, but 
little encroached upon by settlements, with here 
and there a small clearing, and on it a cabin of 
rough boards, surrounded by skeletons of trees, 
whose girdled trunks attest the hasty and waste- 
ful mode employed in preparing the land for cul- 
ture. The only object that gives animation to 
this dreary scene is the steamboat. When one 
of them approaches a station where wood is taken 
in, all the scanty population is immediately in 
motion. Whites and blacks, men, women, and 
children, rush down to the water's edge, some to 
receive, and others to part with friends; some 
waiting for goods, some anxious for news, and 
all intent on gratifying their curiosity. 

From the Ohio to the Wisconsin the shores 
of the river are more varied, and board cabins 
give place to the log huts of the Northern settlers. 
On the left are to be seen the broad prairies of 
Missouri, on the right the fertile lands of Illinois. 
There are several points in the country through 
which the early French discoverers passed, still 
reminding the traveller of its former possessors. 
Two little villages still bear the names of Joliet 
and Hennepin ; the old Fort of Peoria has become 
the centre of a new city -, and the villages of Kas- 



212 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

kaskia, Cahokia, and Prairie du Rocher contain 
a population of six or seven hundred, almost en- 
tirely French. 

Still more numerous are the relics of the same 
people on the opposite bank of the river, in the 
State of Missouri. There the names of St. Gen- 
evieve, Cape Girardeau, St. Charles, La Riviere 
Gasconnade, and St. Louis, are so many memen- 
toes to perpetuate the memory of the first settlers. 

St. Louis, now a large and rapidly-growing 
city, is, like New-Orleans, divided into the French 
and American quarters. The old, or French 
quarter, extends along the flat, the streets being 
narrow, and the place wearing an appearance of 
antiquity rarely seen in American towns. The 
American quarter looks down upon the other 
from a hill that commands the neighbouring coun- 
try. These two French towns, more than a 
thousand miles distant from each other, strikingly 
call to mind the time when the Father of Waters 
in his whole course was claimed by France. 



WAR WITH ENGLAND. 213 



CHAPTER XVII. 

War with England. — Battle of New-Orleans. 

1812. — The first Legislative Assembly was 
held in June, nine days after the United States 
had declared war against England. The insult- 
ing conduct of that power towards our flag, and 
the right claimed by her to search our vessels, 
were the principal causes that led to this contest 
for the liberty of the seas. 

Claiborne and General Villere, son of the vic- 
tim of O'Reilly, were the two canidates nomina- 
ted by the people for the office of governor; 
and the choice of the Legislature fell upon Clai- 
borne, whose mild and impartial government 
heretofore had concihated even those who did 
not vote for him. 

One of the first acts of the Legislature was to 
appoint three judges of the Supreme Court ; and 
they also authorized the governor to call out the 
militia to repel invasion or suppress insurrec- 
tion within the limits of the State ; but these 
were not to be kept in active service longer than 



214 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

three months at a time, except during war, when 
an extension of sixty days was permitted. When 
in actual service they were to receive the pay 
and rations of regular troops, and to be subject 
to martial law. 

Harrison had the year before defeated the 
Indians (who might be considered as the ad- 
vanced guard of the British) at Tippecanoe, and 
General Hull was now advancing to Detroit to 
follow up the blow, when he received informa- 
tion of the declaration of war. After some skir- 
mishes the Indians retreated ; but the British 
general Brock coming up with a strong force, 
the American commander retired to Detroit, to 
which place he was followed by the enemy, 
and there he ingloriously surrendered, without 
attempting to defend himself. 

Louisiana, though exempt from the ravages 
of war, experienced at this time one of the most 
dreadful hurricanes that had ever devastated the 
country. In New-Orleans it blew down several 
houses and one of the market-places. 

The navy of the United States, which Eng- 
land had hoped speedily to annihilate, now began 
to show of what materials it was composed. If 
the name of Hull had been disgraced on shore, 
it was rendered illustrious on the ocean by a 



NAVAL SUCCESSES. 215 

brilliant naval victory, the first in a series of 
similar triumphs. The gallant brother of the 
governor of Michigan, after a close action of 
twenty minutes, captured, and almost literally 
destroyed, one of the enemy's finest frigates; 
and Bainbridge, Decatur, Porter, and Jones were 
no less successful in sustaining the honour of their 
fjountry's flag. 

1813. — Wilkinson, who was still in Louisiana 
with a military command, received orders from 
the President to seize upon Fort Chartres at 
Mobile, which was still in the hands of the 
Spaniards. In concert with a naval force under 
Commodore Shaw, he took possession of the Isl- 
and of Dauphine, and captured a vessel laden 
with stores for the fort. The Spanish command- 
ant, being without provisions, was obliged to sur- 
render ; and a part of the artillery found here 
was employed, in the armament of a small fort 
erected by Wilkinson at the mouth of Mobile 
Bay, to which he gave the name of Fort Boyer. 

After farther reverses in Canada, General 
Harrison was at length enabled to act upon the 
offensive, and the fortune of war turned in tavour 
of the American arms. The gallant and youth- 
ful Perry captured the entire British fleet on Lake 
Erie ; the English, with their Indian allies, were 
R 



216 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

defeated by Harrison on the Thames, where the 
famous Tecumseh was slain ^ and the Americans 
made themselves masters of the navigation of 
Lake Ontario. 

On the other hand, the naval forces of Eng- 
land kept the Atlantic coast in a state of constant 
alarm, and committed serious depredations, es- 
pecially in the Chesapeake ; while an English 
squadron appeared on Lake Champlain, and was 
soon followed by an army of fourteen thousand 
veteran troops. But the Americans gathered 
fresh courage and energy from the dangers 
which threatened them; the states of New- 
England, which had hitherto taken but little 
part in the contest, now came forward with their 
hardy and well-trained militia ; the disgraceful 
burning of Washington had excited the deepest 
indignation ; and the British were repulsed with 
great loss both at Plattsburg and Baltimore. 

1814. — This year the enemy's arms were di- 
rected more especially against the South, and the 
most brilliant triumphs were anticipated by them. 
Their plans, however, were soon understood ; and 
General Jackson, the conqueror of the Creeks at 
Horseshoe Bend, who had recently taken Pen- 
sacola from the Spaniards in consequence of 
their having violated their neutrality by admit- 



PREPARTIONS TO ATTACK NEW-ORLEANS. 217 

ting the English, was ordered to proceed with 
all possible haste to New-Orleans. 

It was known that the enemy's efforts were to 
be directed against that city, and every possible 
preparation was made for its defence. Still, all 
the force there amounted only to seven hundred 
regular troops, a thousand militia badly armed, 
and one hundred and fifty marines. But two 
thousand five hundred riflemen, commanded by 
Generals Coffee and Carroll, were on their way 
from Tennessee, and General Thomas was de- 
scending the river at the head of two thousand 
Kentuckians. 

Meanwhde "the British fleet, under Admiral 
Cochrane, was already in the waters of Louisiana, 
seeking a place to eflect a landing. A formida- 
ble pirate, named Lafitte, commanded at that 
time the Bay of Barrataria, and the English 
thought it not beneath them to seek his assistance 
by advantageous proposals. The government 
of Louisiana had before set a price upon his head. 
Still Lafitte rejected the offers of the enemy, in- 
formed Claiborne of them, and applied for his 
pardon and permission to serve in the cause 
of liberty. The governor and General Villere 
were in favour of accepting this offer ; but the 
Legislature, which was then in session, vehe- 



218 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

mently opposed it, considering that their cause, 
would be disgraced by his participation. They 
even ordered Commodore Patterson to drive him 
from his retreat ; but he did not wait for this ; 
and the Americans, on arriving at Barrataria, 
found only empty huts, which they set on fire, 
and a few abandoned cannon. 

All this had taken place before the arrival of 
General Jackson. His first step, after reconnoi- 
tring all the most exposed points, was to de- 
spatch Commodore Jones, wdth his small squad- 
ron of one sloop-of-war and five gunboats, to 
watch the motions of the enemy, and especially 
to defend the Rigolets, the principal passage be- 
tween Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. 
Here he was attacked by the enemy, himself, as 
well as Parker, his second in command, wounded, 
and his whole squadron captured. Thus New- 
Orleans was left without any defence by w^ater. 

Under these circumstances, General Jackson 
demanded of the Legislature that the writ of 
habeas corpus should be suspended ; this, how- 
ever, they refused to grant. Claiborne empow- 
ered him to call out the whole of the militia, and 
the citizens enrolled themselves with the utmost 
alacrity. Martial law was proclaimed by the 
commander-in-chief, and the Legislature author- 



ENTHUSIASM AT NEW-ORLEANS. 219 

ized him to employ Lafitte, to whom a pardon 
was now offered. But what Jackson most de- 
sired, though he did not succeed in effecting it, 
was the adjournment of the Legislature, behev- 
ing that this body threw obstacles in the way of 
all his plans. 

The troops from Tennessee and Kentucky ar- 
rived, and this gave confidence to the inhabi- 
tants, as the city was now defended by more than 
six thousand men. The weather being cold, and 
the soldiers insufficiently. suppHed with clothing, 
the Assembly placed 8000 dollars in the hands 
of a committee to relieve their wants, and 
blankets and woollen stuffs were collected from 
the people of the town. The merchants and 
shopkeepers also sent in boxes of shoes and hats, 
and a quantity of mattresses, and the inhabitants 
of some parishes contributed not less than 4000 
dollars in money. The ladies at the same time 
were actively employed in making clothing for 
their defenders, and in preparing lint, medical 
apparatus, and comfortable rooms for the wound- 
ed. Even the children were busied in making 
cartridges and running bullets. Never had there 
been so great enthusiasm among a mass of peo- 
ple collected from distant points, and differing 
from each other in manners and language, though 



220 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

the preponderance of the French, and their 
quicker susceptibiUty, might in some measure 
account for it. 

On the 23d of December, at midnight, some 
miUtia-men who were stationed at an abandoned 
fishing village on the Bayou Marent, near Lake 
Borgne, suddenly perceived nine barges, mounted 
with cannon, coming towards them. They en- 
deavoured to conceal themselves, but were dis- 
covered, and all taken prisoners ; one of them, 
however, managed to get away, and, after trav- 
elling three days through the cypress swamps, 
he reached the city. 

Some Spanish fishermen, it seems, had acted 
as guides to the enemy. They landed three 
thousand men, under the command of General 
Kean, who, debouching by the Bayou Marent, 
the Bayou Bienvenu, which falls into it, and the 
Canal Villere, which terminates in the latter, 
succeeded in surprising the general of that name 
in his house ; but his son, who commanded a 
party of militia, jumping from a window, made 
his way unhurt through a brisk fire of pistol-shot, 
and hastened with all possible speed to New- 
Orleans, to give the alarm. It was half past 
two in the afternoon when General Jackson re- 
ceived information of the enemy's landing, and 



LANDING OF THE ENEMY. 221 

he immediately sent a detachment of marines 
and a troop of artillery, with two field-pieces, to 
oppose them. At four o'clock the volunteers of 
Tennessee, the riflemen of Orleans, and the 
dragoons of Mississippi had taken up a position 
two miles below the city, and they were soon 
afterward followed by the forty-fourth regiment 
of regulars, a battalion of the city militia, and 
some companies of coloured men ; while Clai- 
borne, with two regiments of militia and a com- 
pany of cavalry, established himself at Gentilly, 
to cover the to\vn. 

Meanwhile the English were encamped at the 
Plantation Villere, near the river ; and, seeing a 
vessel cast anchor within range of their guns, 
they moved towards the levee to examine her. 
It was the schooner Caroline, belonging to the 
United States navy, under the command of Com- 
modore Patterson. They took her to be a mer- 
chant vessel ; but she soon undeceived them by 
a broadside, which killed more than a hundred 
of their men. In vain did they endeavour to 
drive her off with cannon and Congreve rockets : 
she was soon joined by the sloop-of-war Loui- 
siana ; and so destructive was the fire of the two 
vessels, that the enemy were obliged to quit their 
camp. 



222 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

While the advanced guard of the Americans 
was engaged in dislodging a picket of the enemy 
from the road in front of the plantation Lacoste, 
the seventh and forty-fourth regiments, and the 
marines, formed in order of battle, with two 
pieces of artillery. The enemy endeavoured to 
take their left wing in flank, and the forty-fourth 
was beginning to give ground, when two battal- 
ions of militia and some Indians came up. The 
English then directed their attack against the 
latter ; but the fire of the Americans was so well 
kept up, that they were forced to make a pre- 
cipitate retreat, under cover of the approaching 
darkness, increased by the smoke of the action 
and a fog. The Tennesseans charged the re- 
tiring columns, and the Louisiana riflemen, who 
took part in the attack, penetrated even to the 
enemy's camp, where they made several prison- 
ers ; but in returning they unfortunately encoun- 
tered a body of his troops of three times their 
own force, and, taking them for Americans, were 
all made prisoners. The Tennesseans, with the 
river in their rear, kept up the action till half 
past nine o'clock. Two hours later, a brisk firing 
was heard in the direction of the plantation Ju- 
monville, below that of Villere. It proceeded 
from the Louisianian division of Morgan, which . 



BATTLE OF THE 23d OF DECEMBER. 2iiJ 

had been encamped on the right bank of the 
Mississippi, but which, on seeing the engage- 
ment, had eagerly demanded permission to cross 
the river and join in it. The general yielded to 
their wishes ; but they had only time to exchange 
a few shots with a detachment of the enemy, 
when the darkness of night put a stop to the 
action. 

In this battle, fought on the 23d of December, 
the English, who were five thousand strong, lost 
more than five hundred men, while the loss of 
the Americans, w^hose numbers did not exceed 
two thousand, was only one hundred and forty 
killed and wounded, and seventy-five taken pris- 
oners. 

A company of Louisianians, commanded by 
Saint Gerne, intrenching themselves the same 
night on the Canal Rodriguez, two miles above 
the spot where the battle had been fought, the 
next morning Jackson resolved to establish a line 
of deferce there. Leaving but two companies 
of cavalry to face the enemy, he set to w^ork to 
enlarge and deepen the canal, raising, at the same 
time, a strong parapet of earth on its bank, with 
embrasures at proper distances, and forming the 
curtain and casing with bales of cotton. On be- 
ing completed, this line of defence was mounted 



224 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

with eighteen pieces of cannon and a howitzer. 
An acre and a half lower down, a breach was 
made in the levee, and the water of the river 
rushing impetuously through it, soon covered the 
plain to the depth of thirty inches. 

This precaution, however, proved an unfortu- 
nate one ; for the water from the river so raised 
the bayou which the English had entered, that 
they were enabled to land the whole of their ar- 
tillery. This they employed with such effect as 
to burn the Caroline on the 27th ; and the Loui- 
siana, the only vessel now left the Americans, 
would have shared the same fate, had she not 
been prudently removed to another position. 

At daybreak the next morning the enemy re- 
newed their fire upon the Louisiana, and at the 
same time made a vigorous attack upon the 
American lines; they were repulsed, however, 
with a loss of two or three hundred men, while 
that of the Americans was only eighteen killed 
and wounded. 

In this situation of affairs, three members of 
the Legislative Assembly waited upon the general 
to inquire what would be his course should he be 
obliged to retreat. It had been whispered that, 
in the event of a defeat, he had resolved to set 
fire to New- Orleans, as the Russians had done to 



f \.CKSON S REPLY TO THE ASSEMBLY. 225 

Moscow, that the enemy might find there neither 
shelter nor provisions. He thus answered them : 
" If I thought the very hairs of my head could 
know my intentions, I would at once burn them. 
However, gentlemen, you may inform the hon- 
ourable body to which you belong, that their ses- 
sion will be a pretty hot one if I am obliged to 
abandon the town." These words sufficiently 
indicated that his purpose, in case of a retreat, 
was to follow the example of Rostopchin. 

Soon after this a groundless report was circu- 
lated that the members of the Assembly had a 
secret design of giving up the country to the 
English ; and the consequences threatened to be 
serious. This rumour being communicated to 
the commander-in-chief by Colonel Declouet, he 
ordered Claiborne to inquire into it, and if he 
found it true, to blow up the Assembly. The 
governor, however, concluded that the most pru- 
dent course would be to close the place of ses- 
sion, so that the members, on attempting to enter, 
found themselves stopped by crossed bayonets. 
They remonstrated against this violation of their 
rights, and the general consented to countermand 
the order. 

1815. — Meanwhile the enemy had been busily 
engaged in preparing for another attack. They 



226 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

had thrown up an intrenchment opposite to the 
American position, making use of sugar-hogs- 
heads for casings to their embrasures ; and on the 
1st of January, at nine o'clock in the morning, as 
soon as the fog began to break away, three bat- 
teries — one at the water's edge, another in the cen- 
tre of the plain, and the third near the wood — 
mounted with thirty pieces of heavy artillery, 
opened a tremendous fire, accompanied by Con- 
greve rockets, against the American lines; but 
it was returned so effectually from the latter, that 
in less than an hour seven of the enemy's can- 
non were disabled ; four hours afterw^ard he was 
compelled to abandon the battery near the wood ; 
and by three in the afternoon the two others were 
silenced. 

But the decisive struggle was yet to come. 
The British forces, amounting to twelve or fifteen 
thousand men, being all landed. Sir Edward 
Packenham, the commander-in-chief of the expe- 
dition, determined to make a grand effort to ef- 
fect his object. Accordingly, at daybreak on the 
8th of January, the signal for attack being giv- 
en by letting off two rockets, one on their right, 
the other on their left, the British columns rush- 
ed on with so much impetuosity, a furious can- 
nonade being commenced at the same time, that 



BATTLE OF THE 8tH OF JANUARY. 227 

the picket- guards of the Americans had scarcely 
time to fall back within the lines. Meanwhile 
the fog was so dense that the enemy could 
not be seen till they had approached within a 
short distance of the American works, when they 
were descried marching with quick step, in close 
ranks from sixty to eighty deep, and carrying 
fascines and ladders besides their arms. They 
were in two divisions, under Generals Gibbs 
and Kean, and commanded by Packenham in 
person. One was advancing against the centre 
of the American line, and the other against the 
redoubt on the levee, which there had not been 
time to finish. But their opponents were prepa- 
red for them. The marines, with Lafitte and his 
bucaniers, and some French refugees, all excel- 
lent artillerymen, were at their posts ; and the 
interval between each embrasure was filled with 
Louisiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky riflemen, 
all unerring marksmen. These were ranged in 
lines of some depth, those in the rear loading the 
rifles and passing them to the others, that there 
might be no cessation in the fire. The cavalry 
were stationed on the wings and in the rear, to 
take advantage of any circumstances that might 
arise. The American commander, who could 
scarcely restrain the ardour of his men, waited 



228 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

till the enemy were fairly within gun shot, and 
then gave the signal to fire : this was instantly 
followed by three loud cheers from the troops, 
and a shower of cannon-shot, grape, and rifle- 
balls from the whole line. The assailants were 
staggered for a moment; but, recovering, they 
again gallantly advanced, though cut down at 
every step, without returning a shot until they 
had gained the edge of the fosse ; but here the 
fire was so tremendous that they could no long- 
er stand against it, and retreated in disorder. 
Twice Packenham succeeded in rallying them, 
having his horse killed under him in the first at- 
tempt, and being mortally wounded himself in 
the second. A few moments after Generals 
Gibbs and Kean were also wounded, and carried 
from the field. Dismayed by their losses, the en- 
emy now thought of nothing but making the best 
of their way back to their camp, when General 
Lambert, hastening up with the reserve, endeav- 
oured to stop them. In this he at length succeed- 
ed, after being drawn along with them to some 
distance from the field of battle, when he formed 
them again into columns, and once more led them 
to the assault. 

But the fire of the Americans, w^hich had not 
ceased for a moment, was no less tremendous 
than before, and they were driven back with 



ASSAULT ON THE REDOUBT. 229 

immense slaughter, leaving the ground covered 
with their dead and wounded. 

The enemy's left had at one time nearly suc- 
ceeded in getting possession of the redoubt on 
the river. Colonel Regnier, who led the attack, 
had actually made his way over the intrench- 
ment, but was here shot down, and fell dead on 
one of the cannon. This officer was a French 
emigrant ; and on the death of their leader the 
attacking column hastily retreated. 

While these events were taking place on the 
left bank of the river, a detachment of fifteen 
hundred of the enemy, under Colonel Thornton, 
had attacked the division of Morgan on the 
right bank. This division consisted* of about 
seven hundred men, the greater part of whom 
were armed only with pikes and fowling-pieces. 
Their advanced guard, driven back by the ene- 
my, formed again behind a mill, and repulsed 
them in turn. But Morgan at this time ordering 
a retreat, Thornton again advanced, directing his 
fire against the Kentuckians, and these giving 
way, drew the other battalions along with them. 
The whole column retired, however, in good 
order ; and the British commander, seeing the dis- 
comfiture of his countrymen on the other side, 
abirdoned the pursuit. 



230 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

Such was the issue of the decisive battle of 
Plaine Chahnette, called by the Americans the 
battle of New-Orleans. The loss of the British 
was very severe, being two thousand killed, a 
great number wounded and taken prisoners, and 
fourteen pieces of cannon. The Americans, in- 
credible as it may appear, had but seven men 
killed and six wounded. The action lasted but 
two hours. 

It might almost be said that the great contest 
for independence was decided in this battle, if, 
according to Jefferson, the first war with England 
was only a war of liberty. 

Lambert, who had now succeeded to the com- 
mand of the British forces, requested a truce of 
twenty-four hours to bury the dead and remove 
the wounded, which was granted. 

On the evening of the 18th the enemy aban- 
doned Louisiana, in little less than a month from 
the time they had landed, leaving behind a quan- 
tity of ammunition and eighteen wounded men, 
two of whom were officers. A surgeon, in whose 
care they had been placed, handed to the Amer- 
ican commander a letter from General Lambert, 
recommending them to his protection, and assu- 
ring him that no farther hostile attempts would 
be made against New-Orleans, at least for the 
present. 



END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 231 

The squadron which had been attacking Fort 
St. Philip since the 9th instant put to sea the same 
day. This squadron, consisting of two bomb- 
ketches, a brig, a schooner, and a sloop-of-war 
had been unable to capture a fort defended only 
by a few small pieces of artillery. 

Among those who most distinguished them- 
selves during this brief but memorable cam- 
paign, were, next to the Commander-in-chief, 
Generals Villere, Carroll, Coffee, Ganigues, Flan- 
jac. Colonel Delaronde, Commodore Patterson, 
Majors Lacoste, Planche, Hinds, Captain Saint 
Gerne, Lieutenants Jones, Parker, Marent, and 
Dominique ; Colonel Savary, a man of colour — 
nor must we omit to mention Lafitte, pirate though 
he was. 

Thus ended this short, brilliant, and event- 
ful campaign. The enemy had paid too dearly 
for their first attempt to make a second, and 
nothing special transpired until, a few weeks 
afterward, official information was received of 
the treaty concluded at Ghent, when the brave 
men who had so nobly come forward in their 
country's defence were honourably discharged. 
The situation of the commander-in-c;hief had 
been one of great difficulty and delicacy, and he 
has been charged with exercising the power he 
possessed with too little rea'ard to private rights 
S 



232 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

and official inviolability ; but when we look at 
the grand result, w^e are but little disposed to 
dwell upon these matters ; nor is it to be denied 
that his firmness, skill, and energy contributed 
most essentially to the triumphant termination 
of the contest. 

Congress did justice to Louisiana — to the ser- 
vices she had rendered in the cordmon cause — 
to her patriotism and courage, the privations, 
sufferings and dangers to which she had cheer- 
fully submitted, and the generosity with which 
she had contributed to the support of the army 
and the comfort of the wounded, whether friends 
Or foes ; approving also of the course pursued by 
her Legislative Assembly in continuing in ses- 
sion ; and declared that she had deserved well 
of the country. 



CHAPTER XVm. 

Prosperity of Louisiana. — Bank of Louisiana. — Laws. — Florida. 
— Mouth of the Mississippi. — Lafayette.— General Jackson 
elected President. — National Bank. — Cholera. 

1816. — General Villeue, a man alike distin- 
guished for his civil and domestic virtues, was now 
elected governor of the State, and its prosperity 



INCREASING PROSPERITY. 233 

increased rapidly. Agriculture acquired new 
strength : many planters of the other states, at- 
tracted by the fertility of the soil, emigrated to 
Louisiana with numerous slaves ; and this greatly 
enhanced the value of land. Sugar commanding 
a good price, new plantations of canes were form- 
ed at a distance from the river, as well as on its 
banks. In fact, sugar now became the most im- 
portant crop of Louisiana, the amount of capital 
invested in its cultivation being but little short of 
forty millions. New-Orleans, the great empori- 
um of the South and Southwest, saw the number 
of her warehouses rapidly increasing, her port 
crowded with ships and steamboats, and 'her 
building lots rising to an enormous value. The 
old town was no longer large enough to con- 
tain the inhabitants, and its extension became 
necessary. A second Bank of the United States 
was this year incorporated, which went into op- 
eration on the 17th of February, 1817, and a 
branch was estabhshed at New-Orleans. 

1817. — Increase of population necessarily lead- 
ing to increase of crime, the Legislature enacted 
a variety of new penal laws. 

Masters of vessels concealing fugitive slaves 
on board of the same, as well as owners of mort- 
gaged slaves who should send them away, were 



234 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

made liable to punishment by hard labour for a 
limited term. 

Insolvent debtors could not be imprisoned 
after surrendering all their property for the bene- 
fit of their creditors ; but if fraud were commit- 
ted, they were declared ineligible to any office 
of profit or honour in the State. 

A free woman, except she were a merchant, 
could not be imprisoned for debt. 

Any person depriving another of an eye, or be- 
ing guilty of incest, infanticide, forgery, or arson, 
might be sentenced to hard labour. Against 
some of these crimes provision had already been 
made in the law of 1805. 

Any one introducing into the State a slave 
convicted of crime, or any one purchasing such 
slave, knowing his character, was liable to pay 
a fine and forfeit the slave. 

No free coloured man convicted of a crime in 
another state was allowed to settle in Louisiana, 
under penalty of imprisonment at the discretion 
of the court, after which he was required to be 
sent out of the State ; and should he return, was 
to be sold as a slave. 

Theft, not connected with housebreaking, for- 
gery, manslaughter, and receiving stolen goods 
were punishable by hard labour. 



PENAL LAWS. 235 

A robber arrested with arms in his hands, and 
any person killing another in a duel, were liable 
to be punished with death. 

Fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the 
court were decreed against any one seeking to 
corrupt a judge, or who should obstruct a public 
highway, or keep a house of ill fame, or become 
accessory after the fact to any of these offences. 

The governor and the Senate might commute 
any punishment except that of a slave sentenced 
to death. 

1818. — This year the Bank of Louisiana was 
incorporated, with a capital of two millions of 
dollars, being the first bank established since 
Louisiana had been made a state. 

1819. — Farther additions were this year made 
to the Black Code. Any person carrying away 
a slave was made punishable by hard labour; 
and any one carrying off a free negro, conceal- 
ing a maroon slave, or breaking the collar or 
chain of a slave, was liable to a fine and impris- 
onment. 

A master preventing the law from taking ef- 
fect on a slave accused of a capital crime was 
liable to a fine. 

At this time the prediction of Jefferson was 
accomplished. Some one observing to him, at 



236 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

the time Louisiana was ceded, that the Floridas 
would have formed a more important acquisition, 
he repUed that Florida, being now surrounded by 
the territories of the United States, must neces- 
sarily, at no distant period, fall into their hands. 
The Seminole Indians within the Spanish territo- 
ry having the last year made hostile incursions 
into the neighbouring states, General Jackson, 
commanding the forces in the South, was ordered 
to reduce them to submission, but not to enter 
Florida except in pursuit of the enemy. He 
found it necessary to enter this territory ; and 
while there, having reason to believe that the 
Spanish garrisons gave aid and protection to the 
savages, he marched to Pensacola, and, expelling 
the Spanish authorities, took possession of the 
place. 

For this occupation of a neutral territory, and 
for the trial by court-martial and subsequent ex- 
ecution of two Englishmen, named Arbuthnot and 
Ambrister, accused of assisting the Indians, the 
general was called to account by Congress ; and 
a committee was appointed to investigate the 
whole conduct of the Seminole War. Their re- 
port was unfavourable, and the subject was warm- 
ly debated ; but he was finally acquitted. 

In this state of things, the Spanish minister 



ACQUISITION OF FLORIDA. 237 

signed a treaty ceding Florida to the United 
States. The king, however, refused to ratify it, 
though in 1821 he consented to the cession. 

1820. — Thomas B. Robertson, an upright and 
learned lawyer, was this year chosen governor. 
Louisiana had now 153,407 inhabitants, 53,041 
of whom were engaged in agriculture, 6251 in 
commerce, 6041 in manufactures, and 69,060 
were slaves. The population had more than 
doubled in ten years. 

Notwithstanding the prosperous state of agri- 
culture, commerce did not recover from its de- 
pression till the end of the year. Public confi- 
dence had been seriously impaired, and it was 
slow in reviving. All admitted that the financial 
system of the country was now satisfactory, but 
it had taken three years to bring about this con- 
viction. 

This year the legion of Louisiana was formed, 
one of the finest military corps in the United 
States. 

1822. — ^Louisiana had no good roads except 
those along the banks of the Mississippi and 
some of the smaller water-courses. An act was 
passed for making a road from New-Orleans to 
the frontier of the State, in the direction of Nash- 
ville, in Tennessee; all the proprietors whose 



238 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

lands it crossed, as well as those possessing lands 
within fifty miles of it, being required to contrib- 
ute towards keeping it in repair. 

1823. — The Legislative Assembly, strange to 
say, authorized at this time the establishment of 
six gaming-houses in New-Orleans, on condition 
of their each paying annually the sum of five 
thousand dollars, to be applied to the support of 
the Hospital of Charity and the College of Or- 
leans. However beneficial this might be to the 
revenues of the State, it could not fail of being 
highly injurious to public morals. 

Power was now given to the governor, with 
the approval of the Senate, to commute the pun- 
ishment^of a slave under sentence of death when 
recommended to his clemency — a prerogative 
that was refused in 1818. 

The weather had been remarkably warm for 
some time, when, on the 16th of February in this 
year, the frost set in with so much severity that 
the river was partially frozen, and people skated 
on the marshes. The orange-trees were all de- 
stroyed : a loss which was the more sensibly felt, 
as many of the small proprietors derived the 
principal part of their income from them. Sev- 
eral watermen perished with cold in their boats, 
and also negroes in their cabins, and animals 
were found dead in the woods. 



EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 239 

1824. — Henry Johnson, a very popular man, 
svas now made governor, in opposition to General 
Villere, who was a candidate for the third time. 

The flourishing condition of agriculture and 
commerce, and the immense profits realized from 
these sources, excited at this time a spirit of 
overtrading, and a general desire among mer- 
chants and others to extend their business. But 
for this additional funds were required, and these 
were provided by the creation of the Bank of 
Louisiana, with a capital of four milUons, the 
State taking half the stock — a step which sound 
policy should have prevented. 

A code of civil law, which has received very 
high commendations, and also a system of rules 
for the regulation of legal proceedings, were 
drawn up by Edward Livingston, under the di- 
rection and at the expense of the State; and 
Louisiana is also indebted for her penal code to 
the learning and the persevering industry of this 
gentleman. After having nearly completed this 
arduous work, it was destroyed by fire ; but the 
next day he was seen again at his labours, and 
by untiring application he completed his task in 
an incredibly short space of time. 

1825. — At the commencement of this year 
Louisiana was honoured with a visit from the 



240 HISTOID OP LOUISIANA. 

Guest of the Nation — the friend and the brother in 
arms of Washington — the Hero of the Old and of 
the New World, who had hazarded his life and 
expended his fortune in the struggle for American 
liberty — the brave, the incorruptible Lafayette. 
He landed on the celebrated battle-ground where, 
ten years before, American freemen had given 
proof to the world that they were not degenerate 
sons of their revolutionary sires, and was con- 
ducted in triumph to the city. 

1826. — The following laws were this year 
passed in the Assembly : That any attorney neg- 
lecting or refusing to pay to his client moneys 
collected on his account, should have his name 
erased from the list of lawyers authorized to 
practise in the courts of the State ; and no at- 
torney should be permitted to take the benefit 
of the act relating to insolvent debtors. 

That jurors, both in civil and criminal trials, 
should be free white men, of sound mind, who 
had attained the age of twenty-one, and resided 
for the last six months in the district or parish 
where the case was pending ; and that all com- 
missioned officers, members and clerks of the 
Legislature during its sitting, mayors and record- 
ers, lawyers, notaries, ministers of the Gospel, 
clerks in the banks, physicians, apothecaries, and 



planters' banking association. 241 

inspectors, should be exempt from serving on 
juries. 

At the same session an act was passed pro- 
viding for a board of internal improvements, con- 
sisting of five members, who were to receive no 
salai7, and to be appointed annually by the 
governor, who was to be, ex-officio, president of 
the board. 

1827. — Since the merchants had their banks, 
the planters thought they must have one also. 
They therefore formed a banking association 
among themselves on a new plan, with a capital 
of 2,000,000 dollars, which was afterward in- 
creased to 2,500,000 and was secured on land- 
ed property, and even slaves. This system of 
mortgage enabled a great many planters to 
become stockholders without advancing any- 
thing, but it also ruined not a few of them. 
Money obtained thus easily was spent with the 
same freedom, without a thought of being called 
upon for its re-imbursement. This inflated state 
of the currency naturally augmented the impor- 
tations beyond the real wants of the country, and 
thus aggravated the financial crisis which took 
place ten years after. 

The General Assembly had been in the habit 
of granting divorces on very slight pretences; 



242 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

and no less than thirty-nine had been thus ob- 
tained in the space of fourteen years, or since 
Louisiana had become a state. To prevent their 
frequency, the present Legislature passed a law 
that no divorce should be allowed except for 
infidelity either in the husband or wife, for ill 
treatment, condemnation for crime, or desertion 
for a period of five years. It also decreed that 
the wdfe, in case of divorce, should be entitled 
to one third of the husband's income so long as 
she continued to be of good character or did not 
marry again ; and that the husband convicted of 
infidelity should not be permitted to marry the 
partner of his guilt, under penalty of being pun- 
ished as for bigamy. 

Louisiana duly appreciated her indebtedness 
to Thomas Jefferson for the civil and political 
liberty she now enjoyed, and for the position she 
occupied in the American Union, and, in token 
of her gratitude, the General Assembly present- 
ed ten thousand dollars to his family. 

An act was passed exempting whites from the 
punishment of whipping and of the pillory. It 
had, indeed, been matter of W' onder, that in such 
a state of society, where part of the population 
was free and part in a state of slavery, a punish- 
ment of this kind, common to both, should ever 
have been in force. 



SPANIARDS FROM MEXICO. 243 

Political revolutions having driven the native 
Spaniards from Mexico, many of them came to 
New-Orleans, where a great number died of the 
yellow fever ; and their sufferings from this dis- 
ease they repaid by communicating to the Louisi- 
anians a hitherto wholly unknown malady, call- 
ed dinguet, which, without being dangerous, oc- 
casioned violent pains in all the limbs. 

1828. — Pierre Derbigny, a man of learning 
and an eloquent speaker, was now chosen gov- 
ernor. 

By the existing law^s, widows and spinsters 
were held in tutelage, though they should be of 
legal age ; but this act was repealed, allow^ing 
them to give bail, and to endorse for others, in 
the same manner as men who were of age. 

Another law w^as passed, making the crime ol 
arson punishable with death ; decreeing, at the 
same time, severe punishments against any who 
should prepare combustibles to be employed for 
this object. This act, however, has done but lit- 
tle to diminish the number of fires in the city. 

Persons maliciously destroying the public 
works of a corporation, or carrying arms about 
them, and inflicting a wound with the intent to 
kill, or any one procuring the escape of a crimi- 
nal condemned for a capital crime, were to be 



244 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

sentenced to hard labour for a term of years. 
(See 1805, p. 183.) 

General Jackson had now succeeded to the 
Presidency of the United States. 

1830. — The General Assembly met at Donald- 
sonville, now become the seat of government. 

At this period several persons were detected 
in travelling about the country and endeavour- 
ing to excite the blacks to insurrection, and the 
populace would have punished them very sum- 
marily had they been permitted. The Legisla- 
ture thereupon passed a law, making it death for 
any one to excite the slaves against the whites, 
either by writings, sermons, or speeches made at 
the bar or in the theatre, or to bring into the 
State any pamphlets having that tendency and 
for that object. 

But it was deemed not sufficient to prohibit 
such writings : they must also be rendered pow- 
erless. It was declared, therefore, that any one 
teaching slaves to read, or having them so 
taught, should be punished with imprisonment. 

Any slave selling spirituous liquors without a 
written permission from his master was punish- 
able by whipping, and any white man buying 
liquor of a slave was made liable to a fine. 

This year the railroad company of Pontchar- 



DEATH OF DERBIGNY. 245 

train was incorporated, being the fifth of the 
kind in the United States. 

The severity of the winter, which set in early m 
December with frost and ice, and lasted through 
February, destroyed the orange-trees. 

The population of Louisiana now amounted to 
215,275, having increased two fifths in the last 
ten years. 

1831.— The deplorable death of Pierre Der- 
bigny, occasioned by his horses taking fright 
and running away with his carriage, having left 
the office of governor vacant, it was temporarily 
filled by Jacques Dupre, president of the Senate ; 
and there being no law providing for the elec- 
tion of a chief magistrate until his term of four 
years should expire, he might have retained the 
post. But this he did not wish; and Bienvenu 
Roman, who had received a majority of votes over 
M. Beauvais, his competitor at the last year's 
election, assumed the reins of government, the 
seat of which was again transferred to New- 
Orleans, which, though less central than Donald- 
sonville, was more convenient for business. 

An act was this year passed, providing that 
the militia and the volunteer companies should 
be furnished with arms and equipments at the ex- 
pense of the State. A charter w^as also granted 



246 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

to the Canal Bank, with a capital of four mill* 
ions ; one to the City Bank, with a capital of the 
same amount ; and one to the Railroad Company 
of West Feliciana. 

A tremendous storm, setting in from the east, 
afterward shifting to the south, and continuing 
from the 16th to the 17th of August, drove back 
the v/aters of the gulf into the lakes and bayous, 
so as to flood New- Orleans and the w^hole coun- 
try bordering on the sea. The water, indeed, 
was so high that many vessels were driven onto 
the levee. The damage to the town exceeded 
a hundred thousand dollars, and the loss of the 
planters was still more severe. 

The Legislature having at this time submitted 
to Congress a plan of the mouths of the Missis- 
sippi and of the adjacent coast, showing, as they 
believed, the urgent necessity and the facility of 
excavating a ship-canal, to commence at a point 
below Fort St. Philip, and terminate at the Isle 
au Breton, in 1839 the work was begun under 
a law passed for that object ; it w^as found to be 
impracticable, however, as it filled with fresh ac- 
cumulations of sand nearly as fast as it was dug 
out, and was accordingly abandoned. Those 
familiar with the river assert that one passage 
deepens as fast as another fills up ; and that on 



APPEARANCE OF THE CHOLERA. 247 

the bar, in the deepest part, there is never less 
than fourteen feet of water, which is as much as 
there was when the country was first settled, 
Bienville, in 1699, found eleven feet water ; and 
the Chevalier Bossu, an officer of the French 
navy, in passing up the river in 1770 with a ves- 
sel drawing eleven feet, stated that he got through 
the passage without unloading. 

1832. — The old Hospital, belonging to the city, 
was this year purchased by the State as a place 
for holding the sittings of the General Assembly 
and of the Supreme Court. 

A penitentiary was also erected at Baton 
Rouge, on the plan of that at Wethersfield, in 
Connecticut. 

Another banking establishment was now in- 
corporated, under the name of the Union Bank, 
with a capital of eight million dollars, based 
upon landed property, like that of the Planters' 
Association, and was guarantied by the State. 

This year the Asiatic cholera, after extending 
its ravages over Asia and a part of Europe, 
made its appearance in Canada, where it was 
supposed to have been brought by an English 
vessel. Passing through the states to the north 
and west, it at length reached Louisiana ; and 
in New-Orleans alone not less than five thousand 
T 



248 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

persons fell victims to it. The yellow fever was 
raging at the time. Many unfortunate creatures 
were supposed to have been buried alive; while 
others, suffering under quite different illnesses, 
were treated for cholera, and killed by the vi- 
olence of the remedies. The blacks had been 
spared by the yellow fever, but the cholera 
almost exterminated them. There were planta- 
tions in the environs of the town which lost from 
seventy to eighty slaves in two or three days. 
The disease appeared again the following year, 
but with greatly diminished violence. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Tariff.— Speculation. — Lotteries.— Banks.— Madame Lalaurie. 
— New-Orleans Divided. — Stoppage of Specie Payments. 

1833. — The first blow given to the agriculture 
of Louisiana was by the new tariff, providing 
for a gradual reduction of duties on foreigii 
goods to twenty per cent., taking off every tWvj 
years one tenth of all there was above that, nb 
fixed by the former tariff. This minimum was 
to be reached on the first of July, 1842. The 



SUGAR CULTURE. . 249 

effect of this change would be to diminish the 
price of foreign sugars, and, consequently, that of 
the domestic article. The first few years but lit- 
tle alteration took place, and the sugar trade was 
in a highly flourishing condition. 

On the strength of the tariff of 1816, fixing 
the duty upon imported sugars at three cents, the 
culture had been greatly extended, and the 
crop had increased in 1828 from fifteen thousand 
hogsheads to forty-five thousand. At that time 
there were more than three hundred sugar plan- 
tations, with a capital of thirty-four million dol- 
lars ; twenty-one thousand men, twelve thousand 
head of working cattle, and steam-engines equal 
to sixteen hundred and fifty horse power, being 
employed in this branch of industry ; and from 
this time to 1830, nearly four hundred new es- 
tablishments were formed, with a capital of six 
millions, making the whole number of sugar 
plantations no less than seven hundred, with a 
capital of forty millions. Louisiana already fur- 
nished half the sugar consumed in the country, 
and bade fair to supply the rest. The sugar 
planters were at this time looked upon as the 
most prosperous class in society : they had two 
banks, which liberally supplied them with funds, 
and a third, called the Citizens' Bank, with a 



250 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

capital of twelve millions, was now started. The 
plan of this institution was to advance to any 
planter, on a mortgage of his lands, slaves, and 
cattle, one half of their estimated value in spe- 
cie, at six per cent., for twenty years, he being 
obliged to pay back each year one twentieth of 
the sura loaned. 

The abundance of paper money gave rise, also, 
to other speculating companies, and among them 
four new railroad companies. In short, there 
w^ere chartered this year corporate institutions 
with an aggregate capital amounting to the enor- 
mous sum of eighteen millions nine hundred and 
eighty-four thousand dollars. Never had the 
Legislative Assembly been so unboundedly lib- 
eral. 

By this stock-jobbing system real estate was 
inflated to an exorbitant nominal value. During 
the past year a banking corporation had paid half 
a million of dollars for a piece of land which 
might have been bought for fifty or sixty thou- 
sand but a short time before. Towns were laid 
out in the environs of New-Orleans ; and the pur- 
chasers of lots no sooner began to realize large 
profits by their sale, than they rose to twice, ten 
times, nay, a hundred times their actual value. 

To the Legislative Assembly of this year the 



ABOLITION OF LOTTERIES. 251 

abolition of lotteries is due. They were not sup- 
pressed in France till 1836. The first lotteries 
were introduced into Italy by the Jews. Louis 
XIV. distributed his presents to his courtiers by 
means of lotteries — an adroit contrivance for pre- 
venting jealousy. 

The Legislature of Louisiana had heretofore 
authorized the raising of money by lotteries for 
founding schools, building churches, making 
roads, canals, and bridges, and improving the 
navigation of rivers. Individuals were some- 
times even allowed the privilege of a lottery to 
dispose of a valuable property. But they were 
not only a serious tax on the people, but highly 
injurious to public morals, ?nd their suppression 
was loudly called for. Still, in spite of the law, 
lotteries continued, though not to the same ex- 
tent nor with the same publicity. 

Moneyed difficulties came on apace at this time, 
and 15, 18, and 24 per cent, was demanded on 
good paper. Bankruptcies, though as yet at 
long intervals, began to take place among the 
principal merchants ; and to remedy, or, rather, 
increase the evil, there was a loud call for more 
banks from the State Legislature. Louisiana 
was, however, so far fortunate as to have none 
granted this year, though the way was preparing 
for their increase at no distant day. 



252 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

1834. — The aggregate capital of the institu- 
tions chartered this year amounted to but one 
milUon six hundred and twenty thousand dollars. 

The increasing frequency of steamboat acci- 
dents was an evil of great magnitude, and one 
which loudly called for correction. All captains 
or owners of steamboats were therefore required 
to have their boilers examined by an engineer 
appointed by the State, under the penalty of 
fine and imprisonment, besides being responsible 
for all losses or damage on the goods they might 
have on board, and to the punishment provi- 
ded for manslaughter in case of the loss of life. 
Other states either had adopted or soon after did 
adopt similar regulations, though apparently with 
but little effect. From 1816 to 1838, two hun- 
dred and thirty steamboats were lost, of which 
one hundred and thirty -seven were destroyed by 
explosions, occasioning a loss of nearly seventeen 
hundred lives. In the explosion of the Ben 
Sherrod, one hundred and thirty persons were 
blown up ; and in that of the Monmouth, three 
hundred : both of them took place in 1837, on 
the Mississippi. 

This year was marked by a horrible discovery. 
One of those interpositions of Providence, which 
often bring to light crimes perpetrated in dark- 



CRIMES OF IVUDAME LALAURIE. 253 

ness, disclosed the dreadful atrocities committed 
by a woman who had hitherto been admitted to 
the first society in New-Orleans. Her name was 
Lalaurie. Her house taking fire, while efforts 
were making to extinguish it, a rumour was 
spread that some slaves were confined in an out- 
building which was locked up. Mr. Canonge, 
the judge of the Criminal Court, applied to her 
for the key, which she refused to give him. He 
then, with some gentlemen, broke into the build- 
ing, and discovered in different parts of it seven 
slaves chained in various ways, and all bearing 
marks of the most horrible treatment. One of 
them declared that he had been confined for five 
months, with no other sustenance than a handful 
of meal a day. These wretched beings were the 
property of this woman, and had been treated by 
her in this outrageous manner. As soon as she 
found that her barbarity was on the point of 
being discovered, she contrived to make her es- 
cape, and, strange to tell, by the aid of some of 
her own slaves, who conveyed her to a carriage 
while the crowd were occupied at the other end 
of the house. Had she remained, her life would 
probably have been taken, for the fury of the 
people knew no bounds : they broke into the 
house, destroyed every article of furniture, and 



25i HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

would have torn down the house itself had they 
not been restrained by the authorities. If ever 
the dangerous practice of taking the law out of 
the hands of those appointed to administer it 
could find an excuse, it w^as here. Farther evi- 
dences of her cruelty were discovered the next 
day, when more than one body was dug up in 
the yard. The guilty woman reached a northern 
port in safety, and embarked for France under 
an assumed name. Her husband and youngest 
child had joined her j and some suspicion being 
excited among the passengers, they questioned 
the child, and ascertained who she was : no one 
spoke to her during the rest of the passage. 
Arriving in France, she was soon discovered and 
universally shunned, and on one occasion was 
driven out of the theatre. If she is still living, 
she has probably been obliged to seek a deeper 
retirement to conceal her guilt. 

1835. — Edward White was this year elected 
governor. The mania of speculation had now 
seized on all minds and turned all heads; and 
the effervescence of the people of Paris, excited 
by the Mississippi lands in the time of Law, had 
never been more violent. It really seemed as if 
these lands had the power, at intervals, of crazing 
all who meddled with them. A state of affairs 



NUMEROUS BANKS CHARTERED. 26^ 

now existed in Louisiana of the most extraordi- 
nary character. An enormous value Avas placed 
upon lands covered with water ; towns were laid 
out in the midst of cypress swamps 3 prairies 
were set on fire ; and speculators were ready to 
snatch at every islet. Some few, shrewder than 
the rest or more favoured by fortune, succeedea 
in amassing riches, but a far greater number were 
irretrievably ruined. 

The General Assembly of this year and the 
last followed in the steps of the most reckless of 
their predecessors, and even showed still great- 
er facility in granting bank-charters. It really 
seemed possessed by what Jefferson called the 
hancomania. In the course of these two years it 
chartered no less than seven new banks, and 
pledged the credit of the State in favour of the 
Citizens' Bank : an overgrown institution, char- 
tered in 1833, which paid its cashier ten thousand 
dollars a year, and attempted to negotiate a loan 
in Europe of twelve millions, in which it failed 
for want of satisfactory security. 

The banks chartered at the first session of this 
Legislature were as follows : the Bank of Atcha- 
falaya, capital two millions ; the Bank of Carroll- 
Ion, capital three millions ; the Exchange Bank, 
capital two millions ; the Gar Bank, capital six 



256 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

millions ; and at its second session, the Merchants' 
Bank, with a capital of one million ; authorizing, 
also, the Company of Improvements to carry on 
banking operations, with a capital of two mill- 
ions, and granting the same privilege to the Rail- 
road Company of Pontchartrain, with the addi- 
tion of a million to its capital, of which, howev- 
er, it did not avail itself, but made over its State 
securities to the Citizens' Bank. 

At its first session it likewise incorporated the 
Draining Company of New-Orleans, with a capi- 
tal of one milhon ; and at the same session a levy 
of volunteers was ordered to go to the aid of 
Florida, then menaced by the Seminolcs. An act 
was also passed, imposing a fine not to exceed 
ten, nor to be less than five thousand dollars, upon 
any person keeping a gaming table, and the 
same upon the owner of any house in which such 
table should be kept; making them also liable 
to imprisonment for not less than one, nor more 
than five years. 

This law obliged gamblers to follow their pur- 
suits more secretly, though from 1838 to the be- 
ginning of 1840 seventeen persons were taken 
in the fact, and fined altogether to the amount 
of 21,600 dollars. 

1836. — New-Orleans had been divided into 



SUSPENSION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS. 257 

three distinct municipalities, each having a re- 
corder, while the mayor presided over the whole 
city. The General Assembly, at its session this 
year, appropriated seventy-five thousand dollars 
to equip the volunteers sent against the Indians ; 
condemned the Bank of Carrollton to pay a fine 
of one hundred thousand dollars, to be applied 
to improvements, for having failed in completing 
its railroad in the time specified ; and chartered 
six railroad companies, and two for the building 
of theatres. 

The aggregate capital of the institutions 
incorporated by the Legislature in 1835 was 
18,750,000 dollars; and of those incorporated 
in 1836, 20,595,000 dollars, making a grand 
total of 39,345,000. 

To make the existing state of things in the end 
still worse, the banks were profuse in their dis- 
counts, and did not scruple to issue paper to five 
times the amount of their available funds. 

At length, on the 13th of May, the disaster 
which had been so long preparing for Louisiana 
fell upon her. Fourteen of the banks of New- 
Orleans suspended specie payments. In this 
emergency, and to afford to the community a 
temporary and partial relief, the three munici- 
palities each issued bills from the value of one 



258 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

shilling to four dollars ; and in a short time com- 
panies, *and even individuals, claimed the same 
privilege, so that the State was inundated with 
rag money. 

Another cause of the existing distress was the 
new tariff, which had depreciated the value of 
American sugar in the same proportion as the 
duty had been reduced on the foreign article. 
At a former period the culture of cotton had been 
abandoned for that of sugar. But the contrary 
was now the case ; the canes were destroyed, 
and cotton planted in their place. One hundred 
and sixty-six sugar plantations were given up ; 
and cotton alone was destined to restore prosper- 
ity to Louisiana. Her crop of this article in 1834 
had been 150,000 bales, equivalent to 62 mill- 
ion pounds ; and this year it increased to 225,000 
bales, or 94 million pounds. The large profits 
that had been realized increased the rashness of 
speculators, and their eagerness to purchase rais- 
ed the price to 18 and 20 cents. But these 
prices were wholly unwarranted by the state of 
the markets in Europe, and the losses were im- 
mense. Numerous bankruptcies followed, and 
some for immense amounts. Lands could no 
longer be sold ; plans of towns were of no value 
but to be gazed on as pictures, and the fortunes 



PECUNIARY EMBARRASSMENTS. 259 

based on them fell even more suddenly than they 
had risen. Usurers were now the only class that 
prospered, and they reaped a rich harvest from 
the calamities of others. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Project of Albert Hoa. — Appropriations. — Great Flood. — Im- 
provements in Louisiana. — State of Society.— Conclusion. 

1838. — In consideration of the embarrass- 
ments of the country, many were anxious that 
there should be a special session of the Legisla- 
ture, expecting relief from that source; but it 
did not meet till the usual time. At this session 
some new regulations were adopted respecting 
the mihtia, requiring that they should be annu- 
ally reviewed. There was, happily, less liberal- 
ity manifested in granting new charters, the 
whole amount of new corporate capital author- 
ized to be raised, including that of the Bath 
Railroad Company, being only 2,725,000 dollars. 
Still this was too much for the times; the cri- 
sis was pressing heavily, and public confidence 
and private credit were destroyed. To remedy 



260 HISTORY OP LOUISIANA. 

existing evils, it was proposed by Mr. Albert Hoa 
that the banks should be authorized to issue post- 
notes payable in 1840 ; that they should be sub- 
jected to various restrictions; and that a com- 
mission should be appointed to examine into their 
condition. An act for these purposes passed the 
Senate, but it was so modified in the Lower 
House that, on being returned, it was finally re- 
jected. 

After the General Assembly had adjourned, 
the directors of the banks consulted together, 
and came to the resolution that they would issue 
post-notes, the amount issued by each bank to 
be proportioned to its circulation, and the system 
to continue only during the suspension of specie 
payments. 

1839. — Bienvenu Roman had succeeded Ed- 
ward White as governor of the State. The Le- 
gislature having granted to the railroad compa- 
nies of Clinton and Port Hudson, of Baton 
Rouge and Clinton, and of Atchafalaya, and to 
the Canal of Barrataria and La Fourche, State se- 
curities to the amount of 1,500,000 dollars, he re- 
turned the bills with his veto ; but, notwithstand- 
ing the strong reasons assigned by him for with- 
holding his sanction, the Assembly persisted, and 
the bills were passed. 



IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT ABOLISHED. 261 

An act providing for the construction of a rail- 
road from New-Orleans to Nashville met with a 
different fate. The Legislature had here pledged 
the security of the State for 1,000,000 dollars ; 
but the governor refused to sign the bill, and it 
was rejected. 

A variety of acts were passed by the General 
Assembly this year : one establishing the Court 
of Commerce of New-Orleans, to be presided 
over by a single judge ; one for preventing bets 
at elections, rendering any person making such a 
bet liable to a fine equal in amount to the money, 
or the value of the property hazarded ; one fix- 
ing the penalties for shipping slaves as sailors; 
one extending additional privileges to the Drain- 
ing Company, for making the cypress swamps 
fit for cultivation ; and one incorporating the 
Transatlantic Steam Company of Louisiana, with 
a capital of 1,000,000 dollars, with the privilege 
of subsequently increasing it to 1,500,000. 

An act was also passed to abolish imprison- 
ment for debt, and one granting to the parisli 
judges jurisdiction without appeal in all cases 
where the amount in dispute did not exceed 300 
dollars. 

As slaves were frequently carried away w^ith 
impunity, a law was passed making the captain 



2(52 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

or owner of any vessel on board which a slave 
should be found without the consent of his master, 
responsible to the latter for any loss he might 
thereby sustain ; also liable to a fine of five 
hundred dollars for every such slave. 

Louisiana at this time contained thirt^^-eight 
parishes, and the State was divided into ten ju- 
diciary districts. 

On the 12th of February in this year the Ex- 
change at Nev7-0rleans was burned. This was 
the most magnificent edifice in the city, and the 
loss was estimated at 600,000 dollars. 

1840. — There were in Louisiana at this time 
five hundred and twenty-five sugar plantations, 
employing forty thousand labourers, and a me- 
chanical power equal to ten thousand horses. 
It is believed that this culture must gradually 
decHne, unless the planters can be secure of not 
less than six cents a pound for their sugar; it 
being thought that the article cannot be pro- 
duced for less in a country where the cane is not 
native to the soil. 

This year there was an extraordinary rise ol 
the Mississippi. Never had the river worn so 
terrific an aspect since 1782, when the AttaJcapai 
and Opelousas were partly covered by its waters 
It was now swollen to within a few inches of the 



RISE OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 263 

highest levees, and in several places flowed over 
them and inundated the country. The crevasses 
were numerous, and some of them of great width. 
The lands of La Fourche and Concordia were 
completely under water. The Red River, driven 
back by the increased volume of the Mississippi, 
inundated its fine cotton lands. But at last the 
flood subsided, and compensated by the rich de- 
posite it left for the mischief it had done. New 
fertility was given to the soil, and never was the 
crop more abundant. 

Having now noticed the principal events in the 
History of Louisiana, it may not be uninteresting 
to look back to the changes which have taken 
place in the country since its annexation to the 
United States, a period of thirty-seven years. 

At the time of its cession its whole population 
amo'j'ited to no more than 60,000, whereas in 
1840 it was, by the census then taken, 350,000. 
The State is considered capable of supporting a 
population of two million, its surface being com- 
puted at 32 million acres, though of this one 
quarter part is annually overflowed or liable to 
inundation. Another quarter is covered with 
cyprCoS swamps or pine forests, where the soil is 
barren ; but the remaining half is composed of 
prairies, and of strips of land along the borders 
U 



264 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

of the rivers of extraordinary fertility. The 
districts of Attakapas and Opelousas are those 
containing the best land, and they are as yet but 
thinly settled. 

The average annual crop of Louisiana is about 
70,000 hogsheads of sugar, 350,000 gallons of 
molasses, and 200,000 bales of cotton of 400 
pounds each; the exports of New-Orleans are 
larger than those of New-York; and no less 
than two thousand sail vessels and sixteen hun- 
dred steamboats arrive annually at this port. 
There are in this city sixteen banks. 

Louisiana has three public canals and ten rail- 
roads either completed or in progress ; and sev- 
eral additional ones have been planned. 

The military force of the State consists of 
about fifteen thousand men ; and in case of in- 
vasion, all able-bodied citizens are required to 
serve. 

Though Louisiana has belonged to three dif- 
ferent nations, she has never been conquered. 
Under the dominion of France her progress was 
slow. The difficulties to be encountered in set- 
tling new countries are always great; and the 
French have never well understood the manage- 
ment of colonies. She was fortunate in her 
Spanish governors; but Spain was still less ca- 



FRENCH INHABITANTS. 205 

pable than France of advancing her prosperity. 
In proof of this, there are scarcely any traces 
left of her dominion in this country. Some 
Spanish names and a few Spanish families are 
^till to be found in New-Orleans; but these are 
not sufficient to make one suppose that it was 
ever a Spanish town. There is still there, how- 
ever, a company of militia of that nation, whose 
existence is made known to the public at their 
regular reviews by the following advertisement : 
Volantes ou Cazadores de Orleans I AtUndon III 
And it is probably with a view to the preserva- 
tion of the language that a small paper has lately 
been published, with one side in Spanish. 

Notwithstanding the rapidly-increasing pros- 
perity of Louisiana since her union with the 
American States (a prosperity which she never 
could have enjoyed under any European govern- 
ment), traces still remain, among a large propor- 
tion of her inhabitants, of partiality to France. 
It was scarcely to be expected that the first 
American adventurers to Louisiana, most of 
whom probably went there suddenly to amass 
wealth, to retrieve a broken fortune, or to repair 
a lost character, should have been of a descrip- 
tion to prepossess the old inhabitants of the coun- 
^y-^r in their favour; and those of a better class 



266 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA. 

were not sufficiently numerous to counteract these 
unfavourable impressions. But much as the 
character of the American residents has since 
improved, the separation between them and the 
French not only still exists, but is probably as 
marked as ever ; and there is far less cordiality 
between the two people here than in the other 
towns of the United States, where they associate 
freely together, and are connected by friendship 
and marriage. The latter connexion rarely takes 
place between the two at New-Orleans. They 
live in different parts of the city, the French oc- 
cupying the Old Town, built by Bienville, and 
confining themselves to their own society (which 
is allowed by strangers visiting the place to be 
the pleasantest), and the Americans residing in 
v»^hat is called the Upper Town, consisting of the 
Faubourgs or suburbs, to the north of the Old 
Town, and greatly exceeding it in extent. It is 
also better built, and contains a greater number 
of handsome edifices. On the south side of the 
Old Town other faubourgs have been laid out, 
which, like the rest, following the bend of the 
river, give to the whole the shape of a crescent. 
The southern Faubourgs are as yet but thinly 
inhabited. 

The difference in habits and modes of life may 



FIRST AMERICAN SETTLERS. 267 

have been one cause which has contributed to 
keep the two nations apart. The Americans 
who first settled in Louisiana were for the most 
part merchants, lawyers, or physicians, and the 
planters of that country looked with something- 
like disdain on other pursuits. By degrees, how- 
ever, this prejudice wore away, though it was a 
long time before the old planter was satisfied at 
seeing his sons or grandsons engaging in profes- 
sional business, and especially in commerce. 
Still this change even has not broken down the 
barrier between them ; and the division of the 
city into separate municipalities is likely to per- 
petuate feelings which must operate unfavoura- 
bly to both, but to the greatest injury of the 
French. Still, this undesirable state of things 
cannot be permanent. Their lot is cast together ; 
together they must meet what of good or evil 
fortune is reserved for their country ; and, though 
the descendants of the first settlers should con- 
tniue to remember their French origin, they will 
in time become Americans in character no less 
than in name. 



THE END. 



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